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2012-01-21T12:36:00.000-08:00

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Rime of the Ancient Mariner

2011-12-11T21:50:00.001-08:00

PART –I

Line 1:
It is an Ancient Mariner

• The poem opens abruptly (suddenly) in the manner of a ballad (which can be sung) without any wasteful description.

• Our attention is immediately drawn to the central figure of the story i.e. the mariner.

Ancient Mariner :

• Ancient conveys the two fold sense of ‘old’ & of ‘old time’.
• An atmosphere of bygone days permeates throughout the whole poem.

Line 2:
Three

• This number has mystical & supernatural associations.

Line 3 :
Long grey beard & glittering eye.

• These are two of the most striking features of the mariner’s appearance.

• Time & again in the course of the poem we are reminded of one or the other of these features.

• They lend a sense of mystery to his personality, at the same time they bring a touch of vividness to the description.

Line-3 & 4 :

• The wedding guest is irritated at being interrupted.

• He is the next of kin & his impatience is quite understandable.

• There is going to be however a change in his attitude.

• He is going to listen to the mariner with a peculiar docility ( not very much opposing).

• This change of attitude suggests how powerful is the impact of the mariner’s story.

Line – 10:
The mariner, totally unheedful of the wedding guest’s impatience, again plunges into the story abruptly. This lends another touch of weirdness to his personality.

Line – 12: Eftsoons.
• This means soon after or immediately. The archaic phraseology is used to suggest the atmosphere of the bygone days. The mariner drops the hand off the wedding guest and holds him only with the glittering eye. The fascination is now complete. The guest is not going to show any further impatience.

Line-15 & 16:
• Mark the complete change in the attitude of the wedding guest. He is now as eager & docile as a 3 year’s child.
• These 2 lines were contributed by William Wordsworth.

Line – 21:
• The story once again begins with an abruptness peculiar to it. This abruptness suggests the rapid pace of the narrator. Notice how vivid is the description of the people gathered on the coast to bid the sailors’ farewell & the sailing away of the ship.
• A critic comments, “ it is indeed a voyage from the world of reality into the world of imagination. But Coleridge’s genius has helped us to believe that the wonders that are to follow are convincing as he has used simple device of giving us a setting of actual possibility.”

Line 23 & 24:
• The objects i.e. the kirk, the hill, the lighthouse top are mentioned in the order in which they disappear from the mariner’s sight.

Line -30:
• The sun is getting more & more overhead everyday. They are approaching the equator.
Line 31 & 31:
• So far no dramatic element has entered the story. So when the wedding guest hears the sound of merry making, he is not able to control or hide his impatience.
• The magic of the glittering eye is probably losing its hold. But once the narrative will begin again, and on a more dramatic note, the listener is all attention.
• He again interrupts the mariner in line 79 but out of fear rather than impatience.

Line 41 to 44:
• The storm is personified here. As the narrative gains intensity the words used become more meaningful.

Line-43:
• The storm is being described as a bird of prey chasing its victim.

Line 45 to 50:
• The ship is presented as a fear stricken person fleeing from his enemy who is closely chasing him.

Line -55: Dismal Sheen.
• Sheen means brightness. But ‘dismal sheen’ suggests cheerless brightness. The mariner could not have liked the brightness of ice in that region of cold and desolate atmosphere; hence to him the brightness of ice appears to be dull & cheerless.

Line -59:
• The ice made fearful noises like an angry monster.
• A critic comments on this & the next few scenes, just as the intense cold forms so marked a contrast with the fiery heat of the coming scene to which all this is but leading, so do these fearful noises, prepare by contrast for fearful silence to follow.

Line-62:
• This description shrouds the albatross with mystery. He suddenly appears on the scene as if from nowhere.

Line- 63:
• In that region of dreary desolation, the albatross is the only representative of life. The words “Christian soul” at once gave him human and divine associations. He is considered to be a bird of good omen and is hailed with great joy & hospitality.

Line 50 – 70:
• A critic comments on these lines in a very interesting manner. He says “The details of the voyage are all chronicled (recorded) with such order & regularity , that there is such a diary like air about the whole thing , that we accept it almost as if it were a series of extracts from a ship’s records.”
• In these lines Coleridge makes the ship enter the polar region, the land of mist & snow , the land where huge monster like icebergs drift about making fearful noises.

Line 74:
Shrouds
• It is a rope reaching from the masthead to the side of the ship to which it is secured. It helped to support the masts.

Line 75: Vespers nine.
• It means evenings.
• Usually vesper is used in the sense of ‘evening prayer’.
• Nine – another mystical number like 3 which has supernatural associations.

Line 78-79:
• This interruption by the wedding-guest is definitely not out of impatience.
• He has seen a look of horror gradually appearing & deepening on the mariner’s face and he is frightened. His exclamation wrings from the mariner an avowal of his crying i.e. he seemed to be rather reluctant in confessing it for fear of the agony it would bring with it.
Line 81
• The first part of the poem concludes with a direct reference to the wanton act of shooting the albatross.
Line 88-89
• The vacuum (emptiness because it was not there) created by the death of the albatross is felt by everyone.
Line 90-95
• The other mariners emphasized the fact that the Albatross was a bird of good omen and the ancient mariner had done something very sinful by shooting it .
Line 96-101
• The fog and the mist having cleared off quite unexpected, the sun rose in its entire glorious splendour. The sailors now changed their opinion about the Albatross.
• They declared him to be a bird of ill omen and applauded the ancient mariner for having shot him. According to the critics’ comments, they thus made themselves accomplices in the crime.
• According to a critic, “the changing, variable attitude of the shipmates is noteworthy. They judge the deed and consider it good or bad, not on its merit or by any standard of right or wrong but simply by the result it brings to them and as often as those omens change, so often do they change. They not only make themselves accomplices in the crime, but they are graceless accomplices without the redeeming feature of consistency.
Line 102-105
• A very fine stanza in which the swift movement of the verse reflects the swift movement of the ship.
Line 103
• As the ship was cutting through the waves, it made a track on the surface of water. The mariner felt that the track followed the ship like a swiftly moving stream.
Line 104-105
• The ship now entered the Pacific Ocean.
• A new phase of the journey has begun. But it has been introduced without any preliminaries. The ancient mariner refers to the silent sea as if it were as known to the wedding guest as to the mariner himself.
Line 106-109
• The poet now wants to convey a touch of stillness. So in this stanza, we have a very slow rhythmic movement of the verse. According to a critic, “each line halts” and the effect created by the whole stanza is a feeling of stagnation and helplessness.
Line 110-115
• The sky is hot like burning copper. The mariner’s guilt begins to be reflected in the external nature. There is always a very close correspondence between the fate of the ship and the moves of nature.
Line 116-117
• Two very famous lines giving a perfect picture of a becalmed ship on a completely still ocean.
Line 122
• The stillness of the sea was so complete that it began to rot. A poetic exaggeration is employed to intensify the horror of the sea.
• Christ – an appeal to Christ for help and mercy. A very ironic situation, for one who so mercilessly shot the Albatross is now begging for mercy.
Line 124-125
• These are two of the most gruesome lines ever written. The full effect can be seen best and appreciated when they are read slowly. It is the repetition of words ‘slimy’ and the addition ‘with legs’ that create the extreme sense of the hideousness of the spectacle.
Line 128
• Witch’s oil – the ingredients used by the witch to prepare her broth. There is a description of such a broth in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Line 131
• The spirit – the avenging spirit of the South Pole, whose anger has been aroused by the shooting of Albatross.
Line 137
• Evil looks – the tongues of the sailors are dry, their throats are parched. So they cannot utter any words. They curse the mariner with their eyes.
Line 140
• Like part one, this part also concludes with a significant reference to the Albatross. The sailors, in order to fix the sole responsibilities of the sins on the mariner, hang the dead Albatross around his neck.

JULIUS CAESAR

2011-03-04T19:57:00.000-08:00

Character sketch of Julius Caesar

Caesar, as portrayed by Shakespeare, is a mixture of weakness and strength. In the very opening scene of the play the playwright gives us an impression of Caesar as a political and military strength, though at certain times he tells us that his power is being undermined by certain officers of the state.

Although Caesar shows complete disregard for any kind of superstition yet at certain occasions he reveals to be under the impact of superstitions.

Caesar is fearless but at the same time he has a wavering mind also. When Calpurnia tries to convince him to remain indoors, Caesar fearlessly says that he is ready to accept whatever may be the consequences of stepping out on that day. He very philosophically declares that cowards die many times before their death and the brave never taste of it except once. But when Calpurnia pleads in front of him and bends on her knees, Caesar agrees to follow the words of his wife.

Again when Decius comes and misinterprets Calpurnia’s dream, Caesar is fully convinced and also tempted by the thoughts of being offered the kingly crown, so he decides to get ready to leave the house.

•Here Caesar feels greatly pleased by the flattering interpretation of Calpurnia’s dream .Thus, he appears to have a wavering mind.

Caesar reveals his firmness and his arrogance in the Senate House when Metellus Cimber approaches him with a petition. Caesar firmly rejects the request. Here we admire Caesar’s firmness but we strongly disapprove the arrogant and proud manner in which he speaks to the petitioner. He claims to be one man among countless men as he never changes his mind and never modifies his decisions.

Caesar is also very graceful and dignified in receiving the Senators when they come to his house to fetch him to Senate House. In a very hospitable manner, he offers them to come inside and taste some wine.

Caesar as portrayed by Shakespeare does arouse our admiration because of his strength of character and understanding of human nature but we feel disappointed by his wavering nature, his love of flattery, his arrogance and his boastfulness.

Character Sketch of Marcus Brutus

•When Cassius approaches Brutus and tries to convince and bring him into conspiracy, Shakespeare shows the conflict in his mind due to his love for Caesar and love of freedom .Cassius is able to read the disturbance going on in Brutus’ mind. He targets the mind of Brutus accordingly and succeeds in luring him in the conspiracy party by playing upon his sense of honour and love for freedom and partly also by appealing to him in the name of his ancestors.

•Although Brutus greatly values freedom and wants to safeguard the interest of the common people, yet he is at the same time a dear friend of Caesar.

•Brutus is an idealist who is opposed by the realism and practical sense of Cassius.

•The idealism of Brutus comes out in the course of the play especially when the conspiracy is being planned against Caesar.

•Being an idealist and a visionary with little knowledge of practical realities he fails as a statesman and as a military leader. The lack of political foresight and incapacity to judge the characters of the people whom he has to convince constitute the tragic flaw in him. He shows himself to be too self righteous and self opinionated.

•In dealing with Antony, Brutus shows the same ignorance of the practical reality of life as he had previously when the conspiracy was discussed by him with his fellow conspirators. He shows himself to be more than willing to negotiate with Antony, contrary to the wishes of Cassius and permits him to address the mob. He certainly takes the precaution of himself addressing the mob first, but he then departs, leaving the field free for Antony. He does not foresee the harm which Cassius could and which Antony now does to the cause of the conspirators.

SPEECH OF BRUTUS TO THE MOB:-

•The manner in which Brutus addresses the Roman mob is like a philosopher and not like a politician.

• He tries to appeal to the minds of people not realizing that the mob has only feelings and emotions and no capacity to think.

•In his speech he says that Caesar was ambitious and that it was necessary to kill him in order to prevent him from becoming a dictator and ruling people as if they were his slaves.

•This agreement certainly influences the listeners deeply and emphatically approves the action of the conspirators whereas contrary to this Antony’s speech appealed to the hearts and emotions of the mob and Antony is able to neutralize completely the effect of Brutus’ speech.

TWO MAJOR BLUNDERS COMMITTED BY BRUTUS

One major blunder is that Brutus gives an exhaustive speech to the Roman mob which is beyond their level of understanding.

Another great blunder is committed by him in coming out of the market place immediately after completing his speech and leaving the field clear for Antony. Antony takes full advantage of this and turns the plans of the conspirators upside down.

Antony’s superb oration and its effect upon the mob.

•The speech which Antony delivers to the mob just after Brutus has finished his speech,is a superb specimen of oratory.This speech again shows how crafty he is as the only objective of the speech was to arouse the passions of the mob and to incite them to rebellion against the conspirators and he succeeds fully in this target.

•On the face value Antony seems to be just expressing his grief over Caesar’s death in front of the men. But the ultimate effect of the oration is that the mob feels enraged against the conspirators.

•In the speech Antony points out that Caesar was not at all ambitious that he had the welfare of common people at heart, that the conspirators and specially Brutus have proved ungrateful to Caesar and have committed a severe and a criminal act in murdering him.

•The mob is completely charged by this speech and declares its intentions to cause destruction to the conspirators and also to kill hem. Left alone , Antony feels glad at the result he has achieved and in a brief soliloquy he says that he has been able to set mischief afoot and that the mischief will now take its own course.

Antony’s speech gives an altogether different turn to the events. It is indeed a crucial speech and it marks a turning point in the play.

•Antony proves himself to be a very confident military commander and the victory which he got at the end is as much due to his efforts and initiative in the war as to Octavious Caesar.

Contrast between the funeral speeches of Brutus and Antony.

•Brutus’ speech to the mob is the speech of a philosopher who speaks in a logical manner whereas Antony’s speech is emotional and is intended to stir the feelings and passion of the listeners.
•Brutus’ speech is cold and intellectual. His speech appeals to the intelligence of the listeners and it fails because the listeners in this case are not intelligent enough.
•Brutus’ speech was argumentative and somewhat difficult to understand. His speech is undoubtedly an excellent specimen of reasoning. The logic behind his speech is absolutely clear but again the point remains that logic is something which the common people do not understand. But it does not mean that Brutus is speaking to people who are utterly ignorant. The point is that the people understand his reasoning only to a limited extent. They surrender to his logic only because they have a high opinion about him.

•Brutus fails to understand the mob:
Brutus tries to appeal to the people’s love of freedom. He tries to stir their hatred of tyranny but he does not understand that people at this point in Roman history are not very enlightened and they do not understand the talk about freedom and slavery.

Speech of Antony

The merits of Antony’s speech are:
•Antony knows the psychology of the mob and he appeals directly to this psychology. He does not talk of the principle of freedom or the evil of tyranny and slavery rather he speaks about the wounds which have been inflicted upon Caesar’s body.
•He speaks about the ingratitude of Brutus who was loved as a dear friend by Caesar.
•He talks of Caesar’s will in which he had made the roman mob an heir to his property.
•Antony makes use of several rhetoric devices in the course of his speech. He makes use of irony when he says again and again that Brutus is an honorable man and others too are honorable man.
•He exploits the sympathy of the mob by pointing to each wound on Caesar’s body by connecting it with one or other conspirator.
•Another important difference is that Brutus speaks to the mob in prose, whereas Antony speaks to mob in verse. Antony’s speech makes use not only of rhetorical but also of poetic devices. Therefore Antony imparts narrative quality to his speech and targets the feelings and passion of his listeners.

CLASS IX & X

2011-01-17T04:30:00.001-08:00

CHANGES IN THE PATTERN OF THE ENGLISH QUES PAPER FOR SA 2

Question Paper Design SA 2
English Communicative
Classes IX
Code No. 101
The design of the question papers in English Communicative for classes IX & X has
undergone a few changes. They are as under:
Section A - Reading: 20 marks (Question 1-4)
In the existing scheme of the question paper Students answer questions based on four
unseen passages carrying five marks each -all the questions are MCQs.

The change proposed is that students be given two passages (carrying 5+5 marks) out of four which are based on MCQ responses. The other two should require effort on the part of the students to supply the responses.

In the proposed question paper scheme
~ Students will be expected to attempt four passages carrying five marks each.
~ Passage types will include literary, discursive or factual. One out of the four passages will be a poem.
~ Two out of four passages will have Multiple Choice Questions carrying 5+5=10 marks
~ Two out of four passages will have questions wherein students will be expected to supply the responses. This will carry 5+5=10 marks.

Question types will be :
Sentence completion
Gap filling

Note: The weightage given to MCQs to be reduced from the existing 20 Marks in the Reading Section to 10 Marks

Section B--Writing: 20 marks (Question 5-7)-No change
The writing section comprises three writing tasks as indicated below:

Q 5 A short answer question of upto 80 words in the form of a Biographical Sketch (expansion of notes on an individual's life or achievements into a short paragraph)/Data Interpretation,Dialogue Writing or Description (People, Places, Events).
The question will assess students'skill of expressing ideas in clear and grammatically correct English, presenting ideas coherently and concisely, writing a clear description, a clear account of events, expanding notes into a piece of writing , or transcoding information from one form to another. 4 Marks

Q 6 A long answer question (minimum 120 words) in the form of a formal letter/ informal letter or an email. The output would be a long piece of writing and will assess the use of appropriate style, language, content and expression. 8 Marks

Q 7 A long answer question (minimum 150 words) in the form of a diary entry, article, speech,story or debate.

Students' skill in expression of ideas in clear and grammatically correct English, planning,organizing and presenting ideas coherently by introducing, developing and concluding a topic,comparing and contrasting ideas and arriving at a conclusion, presenting an argument with supporting examples, using an appropriate style and format and expanding notes into longer pieces of writing and creative expression of ideas will be assessed. 8 Marks

Important Notes on Format and Word Limit:

Format will not carry any separate marks and in most cases, format will be given in the question paper.
The word limit given is the suggested minimum word limit. No candidate may be penalised for writing more or less than the suggested word limit. Stress should be on content, expression,coherence and relevance of the content presented.

Section C - Grammar: 20 marks-(Question 8-12)

In the existing scheme of the question paper Students answer five questions of four marks each -all MCQs that test various grammatical items in context.

The change proposed is that students be given two questions (carrying 4+4 marks) out of five which are based on MCQ responses. The other three should require effort on the part of the students to supply the responses.

In the proposed question paper scheme:

This section will carry five questions of four marks each
Out of five questions two questions (question 8 and 9) carrying 4 marks each ie total eight marks will have MCQs .The test types for MCQs include:

Gap filling
Sentence completion
Dialogue Completion
Question 10, 11, and 12 will be based on response supplied by students.

These test types which will not be tested as MCQs include

Sentence reordering
Editing
Omission
Sentence transformation

Note : The weightage given to MCQs to be reduced from the existing 20 marks in the
grammar section to 8 marks

Section D - Literature-20 Marks (Question 13-15)

In the existing scheme of the question paper students answer questions based on two extracts out of three for reference to context (Prose/poetry or play) carrying three marks each (Total -6 Marks) -all MCQs.

The change proposed is that students be given one extract for reference to context (carrying 3 marks) out of two which is based on MCQ responses. The other extract should require effort on the part of the students to supply the responses.

In the proposed question paper scheme:

Q13 A) One out of two extracts for reference to context with MCQs (based on poetry / prose/drama).The extract will carry 3 marks.

B) One extract for reference to context (based on poetry / prose/drama) where students will be expected to supply the answer. The extract will carry3 marks. 6 Marks

Q14. Four out of five short answer type questions based on prose, poetry or plays of 2 marks each. The questions will not test recall but inference and evaluation. 8 Marks

Q15. One out of two long answer type questions to assess personal response to text by going beyond the text/ poetry / prose/drama. Creativity, imagination and extrapolation beyond the text and across two texts will also be assessed. 6 Marks

Total No. Existing Weighatage Proposed Weighatage
of Marks to MCQs to MCQs
Section A-Reading 20 Marks 20 Marks 10 Marks
Section B-Writing 20 Marks Nil Nil
Section C-Grammar 20 Marks 20 Marks 8 Marks
Section D-Literature 20 Marks 6 Marks 3 Marks
Total 80 Marks 46 Marks 21 Marks
Percentage 57.5 % 26.25%
Note: The weightage given to MCQs to be reduced from the existing 06 Marks in the
Literature Section to 3 Marks

CLASS IX

2011-01-14T22:50:00.000-08:00

SAMPLE QUESTION PAPER

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT II

The Question paper is divided into four sections:

Section A Reading 20 marks
Section B Writing 20 marks
Section C Grammar 20 marks
Section D Literature 20 marks

General Instructions

1. All questions are compulsory
2. You may attempt any section at a time
3. All questions of that particular section must be attempted in the correct order

SECTION A - READING

1. Read the poem given below and complete the summary by filling in the
appropriate word. Supply only one word for each blank. 5

YOUNG, GIFTED BUT BLACK

When Mebula Ramsandra
Was three years old
His mother told him, that if he wanted
To be a big strong man
He'd have to drink all his milk ---
And he did.
When Mebula Ramsandra
Was five years old
His teacher told him
That if he wanted
To go to a grammar school1
He'd have to try harder with his homework ---
And he did.
When Mebula Ramsandra
Was fifteen years old
His lecturer told him
That if he wanted to be a lab technician
He'd have to go to University ---
And he did.
So ten years later
When Mebula Ramsandra
Was twenty-five years old
A big, strong, clever, educated postgraduate -----
The man on the other end of the telephone said
If he wanted to work for him,
He'd have to be big, strong, clever, educated postgraduate ----- and
White.

A young Mebula Ramsandra was advised by his mother to consume (a) _________ if
he wanted to be big and strong. At the age of five his teacher warned him that if he
didn't put in (b) _______ work, he wouldn't be able to go to Grammar School. When he
was in his teens, he was told that he would have to go to University to be a lab (c)
_________. After ten years his job application was rejected because he was (d)
_______. Surely the man on the other side of the telephone was (e) __________.

2. Read the passage and complete the sentences given below. 5

Massage can be a natural tranquilliser. It has been used in virtually every culture
throughout history to relieve aches and pains, unknot tense muscles, and help the body-- and the mind-- to relax. There are several types of the massage, but the most popular are Oriental massage and Swedish massage. The chief difference between them is that some of the strokes in Swedish massage are designed to stimulate a rather than to relax the body.
It is unfortunate that many people who might benefit from massage never try it,
dismissing it as a specialised treatment for athletes or disabled people or as an
unjustifiable indulgence. If you think this way, you are missing out on something enjoyable. Any one can learn to give massage. It is a simple extension of warm human care and touch. Professional masseurs and masseuses offer the benefit of both skill and experience.They should be trained in anatomy and physiology so that they can identify muscles that are in spasm or painful knots that have built up by misuse of the body. Experienced professionals generally understand the requirements of various body types and are able to choose strokes that the beneficial for the individual. During a typical one-hour session the routine builds subtly in intensity and then subsides.

1. Besides relieving pain, massage also (a) __________________________________.
2. While the oriental massage focuses on (b) _________________________________.
some aspects of the Swedish massage are meant for (c) ______________________.
3. Many people associate massage with pleasure, thinking that it is useful only for
(d) ________.
4. To identify painful muscles and knots, masseurs should have knowledge in
(e) ____________.

3 Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by
choosing the answers from the given options. 5

SPACE

"It scares me," said Jack Hills, an astronomer at New Mexico's Los Alamos National
Laboratory. "It really does." He and the rest of the world had good reason to be worried.
Astronomer Brian Marsden, at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics had
just announced that a newly discovered asteroid 1.6 km wide was headed for Earth
and might pass as close as 48,000km in the year 2028. "The chance of an actual
collision is small," Marsden reported, "but not entirely out of the question."
An actual collision? With an asteroid of that size? It sounded like the stuff of science fiction and grade-B movies. But front-page stories and TV newscasts around the world soon made clear that the possibility of a direct hit and a global catastrophe well within the lifetime of most people on Earth today was all too real.
Then suddenly, the danger was gone. Barely a day later, new data and new calculations
showed that the asteroid, dubbed 1997 XF11, presented no threat at all. It would miss
Earth by 1 million Km - closer than any previously observed asteroid of that size but a comfortable distance. Still, the incident focused attention once and for all on the largely ignored danger that asteroids and comets pose to life on Earth.
XF11 was discovered last Dec. 6 by astronomer Jim Scotti, a member of the University
of Arizona's Spacewatch group, which scans the skies for undiscovered comets and
asteroids. Using a 77-year-old telescope equipped with an electronic camera, he had
recorded three sets of images. The digitized images, fed into a computer programmed
to look for objects moving against the background of fixed stars, revealed an asteroid that Scotti, in an e-mail to Marsden, described as standing out "like a sore thumb."

1. The world had reasons to worry because…………………….
a. it could come to an end
b. it would be hit by an asteroid
c. it might be hit by an asteroid
d. the astronomers had predicated a definite collision

2. The news that soon came as a relief was that………………….
a. there was no asteroid
b. the asteroid would disintegrate in space
c. it would cross the earth at a safe distance
d. it would be too small to cause harm

3. The asteroid XF11was discovered when…………………………..
a. Jim Scotti observed the sky
b. Scotti saw it through a telescope
c. Marsden discovered it through the computer
d. Jack Hills observed the sky

4. The astronomer, described the asteroid as standing out "like a sore thumb"
because………………
a. it was not a pleasant sight
b. it was noticeable in an unpleasant way
c. it was threatening and ugly
d. it had become huge as it neared the earth

5. The word in the second paragraph that means disaster is………………….
a. collision
b. dubbed
c. catastrophe
d. danger

4. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow by
choosing the answer from the given options: 5

Coded Messages

Arabic mathematicians made tremendous contributions to cryptanalysis - the science
of decoding scrambled messages. Their interest stemmed partially from their religion.
The holy Koran contains revelations made by the Prophet Mohammed. The text
contained dictated messages that the Prophet had received from the archangel Gabriel.
However, these revelations were not necessarily placed in the order in which the Prophet had received them. To deduce the order of the revelations and place them in
chronological context, Muslim scholars determined that some passages contained
words coined more recently, and some contained words that were older.
Then, they counted the frequencies of words in each revelation, paying attention to the frequencies of modern and ancient words. Passages which contained a greater
frequency of modern words were considered to have been written later.
In the ninth century, an Arab mathematician called Al-Kindi employed a similar technique to break encrypted messages - frequency analysis. Letters are ranked according to how commonly they occur. Then, the encrypted message is taken, and the most frequent letter appearing in the code is noted. The code is then compared to the language, and using the correspondence in rank, the encrypted message can be unscrambled. He described this in a book - A manuscript on deciphering cryptographic messages.

1. The art of deciphering scrambled messages has its roots in………………
a. cryptanalysis
b. Arabic language
c. religion
d. Mathematics

2. The Holy Koran documents the messages of …………………..
a. The Prophet Mohammed
b. Archangel Gabriel
c. Arabic hymns
d. Muslim Scholars

3. Placing the text of Koran in a sequential order was done……………..
a. by determining the chronological order of events
b. with the help of Arabic mathematicians
c. by using the frequency of modern and ancient words
d. by breaking the cryptic code contained in the messages

4. Al-Kindi's contribution has been acknowledged in the field of……..
a. encrypting messages
b. cryptanalysis
c. language analysis
d. preparing a manuscript

5. The word in the last paragraph that means 'coding of a clear text' is…………
a. deciphering
b. encrypted
c. revelation
d. scrambled

SECTION - B WRITING -20 MARKS

5. One hundred persons each in three age groups were interviewed on their
musical preferences. All the persons did not have interest in music. Of those
who did like music, there was much variation in their tastes. On the basis of
the information given in the table below about musical preferences of the
people in the three age groups, write a paragraph in about 80 words about the
popular forms of music and how the taste in music differs with age.Age Form 15-20 21-30 31+
Classical 6 4 17
Pop 7 5 5
Rock 6 12 14
Jazz 1 4 11
Hip-Hop 9 3 4
29 28 51

6. While reading a magazine you came across the following article
There is a growing lack of sensitivity and respect for our fellow
creatures. There is talk about the food web and the energy cycles
and ecological balance and how removal of any element disrupts
the whole system, and how this can affect human beings too.
What this approach lacks is the essential interaction with Nature
and with other human beings. Indeed, in many environmental
activities the opposite takes place.
You are an educationist and feel that Environmental Education imparted in
schools, need reorientation. The stress should not be on preserving Nature for
human use, but for protecting animals and plants for their own sake. Based on the
information given above and ideas from the Unit Environment, write a letter to the
editor of a national daily in about 120 words on the subject and give it a suitable title.

7. Look at the picture given below and write in 150 words a story that begins
"I didn't tell my Dad about the green monster I found at the bottom of the garden
because...

SECTION - C GRAMMAR - 20 MARKS

8. Choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below to complete
the following passage. Write the answers in your answer sheet against the
correct blank number. Do not copy the whole passage. ½x8= 4
Since the beginning of human existence, people (a) ______________________ over
the world have expressed their emotions and ideas (b) ________________ the
medium of dance. The word 'folk' means people. Folk dances express the moods
and feelings of (c) ___________________ common people. Different regions
(d) _____________ India have their own dances. (e) ______________ dance is
accompanied by music and songs of the region to (f) ______________ it belongs.
(g)______________ recent times folk dances have gained
(h) ___________________ popularity, partly because of films and television shows.
(a) (i) all (b) (i) in
(ii) whole (ii) into
(iii) much (iii) through
(iv) more (iv) of
(c) (i) the (d) (i) at
(ii) a (ii) of
(iii) an (iii) for
(iv) some (iv) from
(e) (i) Each (f) (i) what
(ii) All (ii) which
(iii) Whole (iii) who
(iv) Many (iv) whose
(g) (i) Of (h) (i) great
(ii) For (ii) for
(iii) In (iii) much
(iv) Until (iv) many

9. Given below are some tips on how to improve your memory. Read the given
hints and complete the passage by filling in the gaps choosing the answers
from the given options. 1 × 4 = 4

How to Improve Your Memory
G Exercise your brain.
G Reduce stress.
G Create vivid, memorable images.
G Repeat things you need to learn.
G Group things you need to remember.
G Try meditation.
There are some simple steps that can help you to improve your memory. The first step
(a) .................................... with things like crossword puzzles, chess etc. The second
step is (b) ..................................... lives because stress can cause us to forget things.
The next step (c).......................................... which will help us to remember things. Another
method involves repeating things that we want to learn and (d)……………………. so
that we do not forget them easily. Finally, the most important method is to try meditation.

(a) (i) being to exercise your brain (ii) is to exercise one's brain
(iii) is to exercise your brain (iv) being exercising the brain
(b) (i) to reduce stress in your (ii) reducing stress in one's
(iii) reduction of stress in one's (iv) to reduce stress in our
(c) (i) is creating vivid and memorable (ii) is to creating vivid and
images memorable images
(iii) creating vivid and memorable (iv) creation of vivid and
images memorable images
(d) (i) to group things together (ii) group things together
(iii) to be grouping things together (iv) grouped things together

10. The following passage has not been edited. There is one error in each line.
Write the incorrect word and the correction in your answer sheet against the
correct question number. Remember to underline the word you have supplied.
½ x8= 4

Often these days we hear and speak of the conquered (a) _______ _________
in nature, 'the taming of a river', 'the war against insects' (b)_______ _________
and so on. Often these phrases being used without consciously (c) ______ ______
attaching any value to them, but those have an (d) _______ _________
underlying attitude of hostile towards Nature and Nature's (e) _______ _________
creatures, a viewpoint which seeming to assume (f) ________ _________
Nature as an enemy that needs to being vanquished. (g) _______ _________
Alternatively, Nature is seen merely as the 'resource' to be (h) _______ ________
'exploited'

11. Look at the words and phrases below. Rearrange them to form meaningful
sentences. Write the correct sentences in your answer sheet. 1×4 = 4
one / fell / day / a / farmer's / will / donkey / into / down / a
One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well.
(a) the / farmer / know / to / didn't / do / cried / animal/the / and / what
(b) invited / he / neighbors / all / help / his / to / him
(c) what / donkey / the / didn't / at first / realize / was / happening
(d) he / everybody's / to / then / amazement / down/ quietened

12. Read the following conversation and complete the passage given below.lx4= 4
Customer: Can I have a small bottle of tomato sauce?
Shopkeeper: Sorry, I have only big bottles.
Customer: When will it be available?
Shopkeeper: I can give it to you tomorrow.
Customer: Thank you, then I will get it tomorrow.
The customer asked the shopkeeper (a) …………………….. . The shopkeeper said
that he only had big bottles of tomato sauce. The customer wanted to know (b)
…………………….. . The shopkeeper said that (c) …………………….. .. The customer
thanked him and said that (d) …………………….. .

SECTION - D LITERATURE-20 MARKS

13.A Read the extract and answer the following questions by choosing the most
appropriate option. 1x3= 3

I touch gently at the windows with my
Soft fingers, and my announcement is a
Welcome song. All can hear, but only
The sensitive can understand.
(a) When the speaker taps at the windows____
(i) people welcome the speaker
(ii) people sing songs in praise of the speaker
(iii) people enjoy the sound made on the windows
(iv) flowers and fields sing a song
(b) Only the sensitive can understand________
(i) the song of the rain
(ii) the joy of the rain
(iii) the rain's sighs
(iv) the rain's affection
(c) The song of the Rain is a/an_______________ poem.
(i) narrative
(ii) autobiographical
(iii) biographical
(iv) satirical
OR
"You are like a child. I can't trust you out of my sight. No sooner is my back turned than
you get that little minx Marie to sell the silver salt-cellars."
(a) The listener got Marie to sell the silver salt-cellars as
(i) he needed the money to pay the rent
(ii) he needed to help Marie pay her rent.
(iii) Mere Gringoire needed money to pay her rent.
(iv) the bailiff had to be paid.
(b) The speaker's tone is ____________
(i) gentle
(ii) furious
(iii) sad
(iv) reproachful
(c) She did not want the salt-cellars sold as ___________________
(i) they had been in their family for years
(ii) she wanted to eat salt out of silver salt cellars.
(iii) they were very rare and expensive
(iv) her mother had given them to her

13B. Read the lines given below and answer the questions that follow. 1x3= 3
"Good-luck to you, Trevelyan," I said. "And may you get the petunias for your princess!"
(a) Why does the narrator call the listener Trevelyan?
(b) Why does the narrator refer to petunias?
(c) What is the tone of the speaker in the above lines?

14. Answer any four of the following questions. (30-40 words each) 2x4= 8
(a) Private Quelch is equally unpopular among his friends as well as superiors.
Comment.
(b) In what ways is Pescud like the hero of a romantic novel?
(c) In what ways do the parishioners take advantage of the Bishop's kindness?
(d) In what sense are men and women merely players on the stage of life?
(e) Why does the narrator from the poem 'Oh,I wish I'd looked after me teeth' say it
is a 'time of reckonin' for her now?

15. As Harold, write a diary entry about your feelings on learning that your father
is the famous boxer Porky and how your classmates have changed after
learning this. 6
OR
How did the Bishop react on learning about the betrayal by the convict? What
does it reflect about him?

Julius Caesar

2011-01-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

A SOLILOQUY AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN THE PLAY

• A Soliloquy is a speech which a character makes to himself when he is alone.
• In this, he expresses his deepest and most secret thoughts as nobody is listening to him.
• He is able to speak freely without any restrictions.
• In a theatrical performance the soliloquy was used as a means of expressing a character’s private thoughts which were to be brought out when the dramatist wanted a character to reveal his private thoughts to the audience without any other character coming to know of his thoughts.

Soliloquies by Antony-

1. There are two soliloquies by Antony. After the conspirators have left him alone with the dead body of Caesar, Antony comes out with a soliloquy that he would do his utmost to instigate the people against the murderers of Caesar and that he would cause a bloody civil war in the country.
2. This is a forceful soliloquy in which Antony expresses his secret determination to avenge the murder of Caesar. This is of course a highly secret resolve by Antony and it could be expressed only in a soliloquy.
3. The Second Soliloquy takes place after Antony succeeded in inciting the people for a rebellion against the conspirators. He says that mischief is now afoot and that it would take its own course. Here Antony is privately expressing his satisfaction at the result which he had achieved by addressing the mob.

FICKLE MINDEDNESS OF THE MOB

1. The play reveals that the mob does not have the capacity for thinking independently and it is somewhat unsteady in its opinions and views.
2. Throughout the play they reveal that it is easy to influence and sway the mob.
3. Anyone who targets the sentiments and emotions of the mob is able to convince the mob and win over its confidence.
4. Is the mob capable to understand the reasoning of Brutus?? The mob has a great respect for Brutus and therefore it quickly falls under the spell of Brutus’ arguments, though the mob is not fully able to comprehend what Brutus is speaking. The mob does not understand ideas such as freedom and slavery. The common people do not have any idea of what is meant by the rights and liberties of people. That is why when the mob says that Brutus should be given a statue with his ancestors and further that Brutus should be made Caesar, the mob reveals the fact that it has not understood at all that Brutus spoke. It could not understand that Caesar was a selfish man and that he was murdered because he could have become a dictator and could have crushed their rights. It is most illogical on their part to offer to give Brutus, the position and title of Caesar.
5. The mob’s quick response to Antony’s emotional speech-
When the mob is addressed by Antony, it quickly falls under the influence of Antony’s rhetoric.
Due to this, the mob is filled with a great pity for the dead Caesar and a fierce hatred for the conspirators. Therefore, the slogans are shouted that they would seek the conspirators, burn their houses and kill them.
The mob does not have the capacity to consider matters and affairs in a rational manner. These people are lacking in common sense though they respond quickly and spontaneously to an emotional speech.
The mob is uneducated and therefore, irrational. But it does have the capacity to feel. Antony’s speech moves them greatly because it is addressed not to their intelligence but to their feelings and emotions.

Section B -Writing

2010-12-15T06:30:00.001-08:00

CHILD LABOUR

Even as India gallops toward First World status with its booming economy, roaring stock market and rapid progress in autos and steel--it is still a giant back-yard sweatshop to the world, full of underage boys and girls working to earn a living.

The Menace of Child Labour
• “Government says that I have a right to live. I want to go to school and to achieve something in life. But the situation in my house makes it compulsory for me to go to work,” says 12 year old Mukesh. This is a common plight of India. Innumerable children being deprived of their childhood inspite of the fact that our political leaders make tall promises to alter the situation.

• The government says that it should provide for the physical, mental and social development of children. But what has the government actually done about this? A large number of children are mentally and physically challenged. When will the government provide the best for children's health? Will it take one, two or three years or twenty years or what????
• Apparently the fact remains that Child labour is widely practised in almost every part of the world.
• Child Labor is referred to as Child Abuse. This is because the Child needs the energy to grow up but all the energy is spent in the work leaving no energy to grow up physically, mentally and socially.
• The disadvantage of child labor is that you are taking the short lived time out of a child's life when he should be getting a good education and having fun with his peers.
• Every time you buy an imported handmade carpet, an embroidered pair of jeans, a beaded purse, a decorated box there's a good chance you're acquiring something fashioned by a child.
• “There are many, many household items that are produced with forced labour and not just child labour," says Bama Athreya, executive director of the International Labor Rights Forum in Washington, D.C. It's a fact of a global economy, and will continue to be, as long as Americans incomes in emerging economies remain low. If a child is enslaved, it's because his parents are desperately poor.

REASONS
• The first cause is illiteracy where some parents never went to school thus they find it very difficult to educate children since they do not know the importance of learning.
• This causes children to be helping parents in doing home activities alongwith earning a livelihood.
• Young girls who are forced into early marriages have to work to fend for themselves.
• In cases where both parents are dead, the orphans usually lack some support which is vital in their upbringing, so they end up doing jobs while they are still very young in order to survive.
• Poverty is another cause for the parents not attaining basic needs or school fees for their children, the children then decide to get employed somewhere in order to earn a living.
• Lack of employment due to which parents lack jobs and are unable to support their families. Thus forcing the children to look for jobs so as to increase the family’s income.
• The government spends crores of rupees in conducting surveys about the number of children involved in Child Labour. But the fact remains that the money wasted on the survey can be spent more usefully on their basic problems.

Ways to combat the problem
• If the rights of children are protected - from the village level to the national level –the situation will change.
• They should get education which is appropriate and which will help them in their life.

• Working children cannot be abruptly pulled out from work. Before that, alternative arrangements have to be made because all children have a right to survival.
• If the government carries out all its work keeping the good of children in mind, children will automatically realise their right to social security.
• Child labour can be eradicated if parents would send their children to schools to get education which will be of use to them in future in getting jobs.
• Children should be encouraged to have a positive attitude towards education.

• The Government should assist those in need and should encourage people to work hard to reduce poverty.

• Orphaned children should be assisted and brought up by their relatives so as not to go to waste.

• Parents should work to cater for their family needs and not send young children to work so that they can assist them.

• Early marriages should be banned especially in cases where the girls are still schooling.

• Job opportunities should be availed to reduce lack of employment especially to people who have families to cater for.
• Teaching people (and especially parents) the disadvantages of child labour through mass media,
• Making strict laws concerning child labour and punishing severely all those who try to disobey the law or are found employing kids should serve a heavy punishment
• Improvements should be made on the economy and free basic education should be offered.

• The gap between the poor and the rich should be minimized. This can be done by eradicating poverty by creating more job opportunities.
• Also it should ensure that the economy of the country goes up so that even the common citizen can manage his family well.
• It should also ensure that expenses for school are not so high to enable the lower class man to send his son or daughter to school instead of sending them to look for jobs.
• Non-governmental organizations should also give a helping hand by collaborating with the government to educate the nation about the dangers of child labour .

MindSetter for the Day

2010-12-12T04:47:00.000-08:00

Imagination … its limits are only those of the mind itself.

Mindsetter for the Day

2010-12-08T20:07:00.000-08:00

The classroom – not the trench –is the frontier of freedom now and forever more

CLASS XII - English Core

2010-12-06T20:39:00.000-08:00

FLAMINGO
prose

CHAPTER 1
THE LAST LESSON
(Alphonse Daudet)
Objectives:
• To develop listening, reading and writing skills.
• To create awareness about value of time.
• To discuss basic requisitions for learning and teaching.
• Value education( Patriotism, love for language, disadvantage of being slaves)
Contents:
• Franz fear of going to school
• Scene at the town hall
• Useful and unusual scene in the class
• Realization of the narrator
• Attributes of the villagers & their tribute to teachers.
• M Hamel teaches his last lesson.
• M Hamel’s behavior and advice, vive la France

Methodology / Activity:
• Group Discussions.
• Dramatization.
• Questioning (question answer technique)
Learning / Teaching Aids:
• Computer aided learning.
• Play cards, Blackboard
• Visual inputs.
Assignments:
 Level I:
1. why was Franz scared of M Hamel?
2. What was the usual atmosphere in school when it begun?
3. What was different that day?
4. What helped Franz understand the lesson?
5. How did M Hamel take and treat his last lesson?
 Level II:
1. Why did Franz think of doing, instead of going to school?
2. What was Franz repentant about?
3. What did master have to say about French language?
4. Discuss the title of the story.
 Level III:
1. How did M Hamel react when Franz was late to school?
2. Explain: Counted on Commotion.
3. How has Alsace been personified?
4. Explain: tracing their fish hooks.
5. Why did M Hamel look at thing so intensely?
6. What is the theme of the story?
7. State the message imparted by the story.

CHAPTER 2
LOST SPRING (Anees Jung)
Objectives
• Developing comprehension.
• Developing skills of scanning, skimming & vocabulary.
• Creating awareness about social issue among the students.
• To securitize the students towards the problems of child labour.
Content:
• The lesson focuses on the problems of rag-pickers, slum dwellers & poor children as a whole.
• Plight of the refugees.
• Hardships of the bangle maker in the city of Firozabad.
Methodology/activities
• Model reading, silent reading.
• Group discussion on the problem of child labour.
• Class discussion.
• Visit to slum area.

Technical aids
1. Posters on child labor
2. P.P.T. & visuals showing bangle industries slum area etc.
Assignment
 Level1:
1. What is Saheb looking for in the garbage dumps?
2. How does Saheb feel at the tea stall?
3. What was Saheb’s full name?
4. What trade does the family of Mukesh follow?
5. What are mukesh’s dreams?
 Level2:
1. Explain “garbage to them is gold”.
2. What does the author means saying “Saheb is no longer his own master”.
3. What threats are faced by the bangle makers?
 Level 3:
1. Justify the title”lost spring”.
2. Dreams are often far removed from reality. Discuss with references to “Lost spring”.

Chapter 3
Deep water
(William Douglas)
Objectives:
1. Developing LSRW skills in English.
2. Developing first person narration of experience.
3. Understanding the key points.
4. Developing usage and enrichment of vocabulary.
5. Relating subjectively to the discussion on fear.
Contents:
The excerpt in an autobiographical account of a childhood misadventure which left an indelible impression on the narrator’s mind. Later, in his adulthood, he made a deliberate effort to shake off the terrifying memory and get over the phobia of water bodies.
Methodology/Activities:
1 ) Direct Method
2 ) Question Answer Technique
3 ) To Share Personal Experience
4 ) To Share Accounts of Acts of Courage
5 ) To Gather Information On Water Sports.
Teaching/ Learning Aids:
1 ) Illustrations
2 ) Power Point Presentation
3 ) Experiences of Students
4 ) Black Board
Assignments:
 LEVEL – 1
1 ) Why was Y.M.C.A. pool considered to be safe to learn swimming?
2 ) What is the “misadventure” that William Douglas speaks about?
3 ) How did Douglas overcome old terror ?
4 ) What larger meaning did the experience have for Douglas ?
 LEVEL – 2
1 ) AT the age of three or four Douglas had developed an aversion to water. How?
2 ) Describe the series of emotions that he experienced while engulfed in the mass of yellow water.
3 ) How did the instructor make a swimmer of Douglas ?
4) What thoughts of Roosevelt did affect Douglas? How did he apply the thoughts to his own life?
 LEVEL 3
1) what does Douglas mean when he says,” The instructor was finished, but I was not”?
2 ) This handicap stayed with me as the years rolled by”. What was the ‘handicap’ that Douglas refers to and how did he finally overcome it?
3) “I screamed but only the water heard me”, why did Douglas scream? What does he mean by “but only the water heard me?

Chapter – 4
The Rattrap
(Selma Lagerlof)
Objectives:
1. To develop the comprehension skill.
2. To inculcate imagination of a harsh life.
3. To develop a better understanding of human beings.
4. To relate the text to life.
Contents:
The peddler as rattrap seller
Peddler’s idea of world being a rattrap
Peddler at old crofter’s house
Old crofter’s life
Crofter’s 30 kronors stolen
Peddler’s apprehension when lost
Peddler at Ramsjo Ironworks
Ironmaster’s invitation to the peddler
Ironmaster’s daughter persuades the peddler
Ironmaster recognizes him the next day, asks him to leave
Daughter’s kind hearted gestures
Pre-Christmas entertainment and hospitality
Peddler leaves Christmas present, changes his dishonest ways
Peddler in a new form, signs himself as ‘captain’
Methodology/Activity
1. Silent reading
2. Loud Model reading
3. Group discussion
4. Narrating/sharing similar stories or experiences
Teaching Aids:
1. Power point presentation
2. OHP
Evaluation:
 LEVEL I
1. What do you mean by a rattrap?
2. Briefly describe the rattrap peddler.
3. Whose door did the peddler knock and how was he treated?
4. Did he respect the trust shown by the crofter? How?
5. Where did the peddler take shelter after stealing thirty kronors?
6. Who came in the forge? What did he do to the peddler?
7. Who made the peddler accept the invitation and how?
8. Did the ironmaster recognize him later? How?
9. How did the peddler keep the trust Edla reposed in him?

 LEVEL II
1. How did the crofter treat him? How was it different from that of the world?
2. Explain the idea of the world being a rattrap.
3. Why did the ironmaster invite him home? Why did the peddler decline the invitation?
4. How was he treated by the ironmaster and his daughter?
5. Why was Edla delighted to see the gift left by the peddler?
6. What made the peddler raise himself as a captain?

 LEVEL III
1. What made the peddler think that he had indeed fallen into a rattrap?
2. But for Edla’s interference, the peddler would never have been able to change his dishonest ways. Comment on the rate of Edla in the Light of this statement.
3. Justify the title ’The Rattrap’.

Chapter-5
INDIGO
(Louis Fischer)
Objectives:
a. To develop the comprehension abilities.
b. To inculcate imagination among the students.
c. To develop skill like scanning skimming and intensive reading skimming and intensive reading.
d. To make the children aware of champaran episode and it importance in the struggle for freedom.
e. To develop vocabulary.
Contents:
i. The problem of the peasants of champaran .
ii. Role of Gandhiji in soloing the problem of indigo formers
a. fought for their justice
b. on the ground of argumentation and negotiation.
c. Uplifting the living condition of the formers.
d. Contribution towards freedom movement
Methodology/suggestion activities.
a. Question/answer technique
b. Group discussion
c. Detained information about.
d. Chanparan drought ppt.

Teaching Aids:
a) Blackboard and chalk.
b) LCD Projector for ppt.
Assignments:
 LEVEL-I
i. Who was Raj Kumar shukla?
ii. When and where did Gandhi ji meet him?
iii. Why could not Gandhi ji accompany shukla to champaran?
iv. List the places Gandhi ji visited between his first meeting with shukla and his arrival at charmparan?
v. What quality of Raj Kumar Shukla impressed Gandhi ji?
vi. Why did Gandhi ji decide to go to Mnzaffarpur? How was he received there?
vii. What problem was the indigo sharecropper’s facing?

 LEVEL-II
I. What kind of reception did Gandhi ji receive at Motihari?
II. What made Gandhi ji explain that the champaran battle was won?
III. What argument did Gandhi ji have for not, obeying orders to quit champaran?
IV. What message does the champaran episode carry?
V. Why did Gandhi ji agree to 25% refund when the actual demand was for 50%?
VI. What qualities was he able to make in the Indians by the Champaran episode?
 LEVEL-III
i. What prove that Gandhi ji was an unknown figure in champaran?
ii. Why were the government servants scared to be acquainted with a person like Gandhi ji ?
iii. Why did Gandhi ji feel that help from the foreigner Ms. Andrew has unnecessary?
iv. Why did Gandhi ji casual visit to champaran get extended over a year?
v. How was champaran episode a curning pointing Gandhi ji life?

CHAPTER-6
POETS AND PANCAKES
Objectives:
1. To develop the four language skills.
2. To understand human and satire
3. To follow a rambling and chatty style achieving thematic coherence.
4. To write a humorous story.
Contents:
1. It is an excerpt from ‘My years With Boss’ by Asokmitran a Tamil writer.
2. He recounts the experience at Gemini studios in a humorous way.
3. He describes the following in a rambling style:
a. The make up department.
b. The story department
c. The office boy
d. The legal advisor
e. The general attitude of the people in Gemini studios towards communism.
Methodology/Activities:
1. Silent reading
2. Group discussion
3. Class discussion
Teaching Aids:
1. Text book
2. Newspapers and magazines
3. Internet
Assignments:
 LEVEL I
1. What was pancake? What was it used for?
2. What does the writer mean by ‘the fiery misery’ of those subjected to make up?
3. What so you know about the ‘office boy’ in the Gemini studios? Why was he frustrated?
4. Why did everybody in Gemini studios think of giving the author some work to do?
5. Who was subbu’s enemy in Gemini studios?
6. What do you know about kothamangalam subbu? List any two qualities
7. Why Subbu was considered NO2 in the Gemini studios?

 LEVEL II
1. What is the example of national integration that the author refers to?
2. What was the job assigned to the office boy in the Gemini studio?
3. Why was the author praying for the crowd shooting all the time
4. Why was the office boy frustrated? Who did he show his anger on
5. Subbu is described as a genius .List four of his abilities.
6. who was the English visitor to the studios? How did the author discover it?
7. Subbu was ‘tarlor-made’ for films How did he use his genius in various activities in the Gemini studios.
8. How does the write describe the episode of the English visitor to the Gemini studios?

 LEVEL-III
1. How was a strict hierarchy maintained in the make-up department?
2. What was the job of the narrator in the Gemini studios?
3. Subbu was a man of genius yet has enemies in the studios. Give reasons?
4. What were the preconceived ideas of the people in the Gemini studios about a communist?
5. What was the Moral Rearmament Army? What was its message?
6. How did the visit of the English poet remain as an unexpected mystery? How was it resolves?
7. What do the you know about the book ‘The God That Failed’?
8. What light does the chapter throw on the versatility of kothamangalam Subbu?
9. Asokamitran has used hum our and satire effectually in poets /and Pancakes. Discuss.

Chapter – 7
The Interview
(Christopher Silvestre)
Objectives:
1. To develop listening, reading and writing skills
2. Understanding the comprehension
3. Enrichment of vocabulary
4. Communication skills – Art of interviewing
Contents:
1. Geneses
2. Opinions
3. An interview is an art
4. But the people both favour and despise it
5. Lewis Carroll never consented to be interviewed. He thinks that interview is immoral, crime and offence.
6. Celebrities think, it as a supremely serviceable medium of communication
7. It helps in deducing the reality as it involves questioning.
8. The interviewer holds a position of unprecedented power and influence
Section II
An actual interview
1. Mukund interviews Umberto Eco
2. Umberto Eco tells that there is lot of empty space which he calls interstices
3. He had a narrative style in his writing
4. In the ‘Name of the Rose’ there is metaphysics, theology and medieval history.
5. He identifies himself with the academic.
Methodology/Activity
1. Role play
2. Interviewing different personalities.
i. In the school
ii. In the neighborhood
3. Group Discussion
Teaching Aids
1. Audio Cassettes
2. Live Shows
3. Internet
Evaluation
 LEVEL – I
1. What are the different views about interview?
2. What does Umberto Eco mean by empty spaces in our lives?
3. What is the reason for the great success of Eco’s novel “The name of the Rose”?
 LEVEL – II
1. How is an interview one of the important techniques in journalism?
2. Why Lewis Carol did have a horror of the interviewer?
3. How is Umberto Eco’s non fictional writing style different from academic style?

 LEVEL - III
1. What did one of the professors tell Umberto Eco when he presented his first doctoral dissertation in Italy?
2. What do some primitive people think about being photographed(Interview)
3. What is the opinion of the people regarding Umberto Eco’s novel “ The name of the Rose

Lesson No: 8
Going places
Objectives:-
1. Developing LSRW skills in English.
2. Understanding the text for inferential comprehension.
3. Developing usage and enrichment of vocabulary.
4. Understanding the problem of hero-worship and fantasizing.

Contents:-
Sophie fantasizing about a date with her hero Danny Casey. Lately she come face to face with reality. Her friend Janise tries her best to mould her in right direction and face the reality of life.
Methodology/Activity
1. pronunciation drill
2. Group discussion on teenage dreams
3. Questions and answer

Teaching aids:-
1. Illustrations
Evaluation:
 LEVEL 1:
1. Who are the two girls?
2. How many members does Sophie have in her family?
3. What does Sophie dream of?
4. Does Geoff believe what Sophie says about her meeting with Danny Casey?
5. Does Sophie’s father believe her story?
6. Who is Danny Casey?

 LEVEL 2:-
1. What did Sophie dream of doing after leaving school? What was she expected to do?
2. Why did her father discourage her from entertaining such thoughts?
3. Sophie’s family was not well off. What are the indicators of the fact?
4. How did Sophie mean to escape the monotony and squalor of her life?

 LEVEL 3:
1. Sophie and Janise were classmates and friends. What were the differences between them that show up in the story?
2. It is natural for teenagers to have unrealistic dreams. Discuss with reference to the story ‘Going Places’.

VISTAS

Chapter 1
The Third Level-Reading Comprehension
(Jack Finney)

Objectives:
• to develop listening, reading and writing skills
• to arouse interest in reading for pleasure
• to introduce students to the world of imagination
Contents:
-deals with flights of imagination of human mind
-Levels at Grand Central Station-imaginary level-III level
-Hobbies-its impact-leisure activities
-Status of modern man in the modern world
Methodology/Activity:
-Group discussion
-Characterization
-Question Answer technique
-Whole class Discussion-mapping information
Teaching Aids:
-Computer aided learning
-Blackboard/OHP
-Information from Internet
-Encyclopedia
Assignment:
 LEVEL I
1. What was the medium of escape for Charley?
2. Did Charley find the third level again?
3. Why does he wish to escape to the third level?
4. What is a First Day Cores?

 LEVEL II
1. What did Charley’s psychiatrist friend and his friends tell him about his mental state?
2. Why had Charley been to the third level?
3. What happened when Charley got lost?
4. How does Charley propose to go to Galesburg? Why couldn’t he reach there?

 LEVEL III
1. What did Charley do to confirm that he was in 1890’s?
2. Why does Charley rush back from the third level?
3. What was the proof of the belief for Charley that the third level existed?

 LAQ
1. How did Charley reach the third level of ground Central? How was it different from the other level?
2. What are the various ways to overcome stress, insecurities and anxiety of modern life?

CHAPTER- 2
The Tiger King
(Kalki)

Objectives:
- To ensure the students to enjoy the text
- Maximum exposure to the outer-world
- Awareness about wild conversation
- To develop vocabulary
- To analyze, interpret and infer the ideas in the text
Contents:
- A satire on the concept and whimsical nature of the ruling class
- A story of the Maharaja who is known as Tiger King
- In order to disprove the prophecy of astrologer, he resolves to kill hundred tigers
- Dramatic irony-king died of infection caused by a wooden tiger.
Methodology/Activities:
- Discussion
- Anticipation guide-prediction of what will happen the text
- Visit to Zoo
- Role Play
Teaching Aids:
- Visuals on wild life hunting

Assignments:
 LEVEL I
1. Who is the Tiger King? Why does he get that name?
2. What did the astrologers predict when the Tiger King was born?
3. Why did the king want to marry?
4. How did the king finally meet his death?

 LEVEL II
1. What did the king plan to kill the rest of the thirty tigers?
2. How did the tiger king celebrate his victory over the killing of the 100th tiger?
3. How was the prediction of the astrologers proved true?
4. Why the Maharaja was in danger of loosing his throne?
5. What did he do to save his throne?

 LEVEL III
1. Just one more killing then I will give up hunting. Justify.

Chapter 3
Journey to the End of the Earth
(Tishani Doshi)

Objectives:
1. To develop extensive reading
2. To Know about the Antarctica-the origin of the Earth
3. To sensitise the students about the problem of global warming
4. To think of the measures for protecting the Earth’s environment.
Contents:
1. The prose passage describes a remarkable first hand knowledge of the Antarctic Circle, geography, geology and ecology.
2. It reveals the geographical history trapped in Antractica
3. We learn about the human impact and climate change by the eco-system and lack of bio-diversity in Antarctica.
Methodology and Activities:
1. Direct Method
2. Short discussions among students guided by comprehension questions
3. Speech on ‘Global warming’
4. Comparison with ‘The Ailing Planet’: the Green Movement’s Role by Nani Palkhivala (class xi)
Teaching Aids:
1. Black Board
2. Power Point Presentation based on pictures of the terrain in question
3. Cue cards for instructions and ideas
Assignments:
 LEVEL I
1. What was the Abademik Shokalskiy? Where was it headed and why?
2. What programme was the writer a part of and what was the objective of the programme?
3. What can be done to save our earth from the phenomenon called global warming?
4. What was Gondwana? For how long and where did it exist?
5. What is Drake passage?

 LEVEL II
1. What were the first emotions of Doshi on reaching Antarctica and why?
2. Why does the author feel that being in the Antarctica is like being in a grant ping-pong ball?
3. What is the subject that features most in environmental debates? Why is the Antarctica at the centre of such debates?
4. Why has the programme, ‘students on Ice’ been so successful?

 LEVEL III
1. What are the indications for the future mankind?
2. In that short amount of time, we’ve managed to create quite a ruckus” which ‘amount of time’ and ‘ruckus’ is Tishani talking about?
3. How has human civilization affected our environment?
4. What does Tishani Doshi mean by the expression ‘walk on the ocean’? How did she and her companions make this walk?

Chapter 4
The Enemy
(PEARL S. BUCK)
Objectives:
- To develop comprehension skills
- To develop analytical thinking
- To broaden outlook
- To enable the students to learn good humanities values
Contents:
- The story is set against the backdrop of world war II
- Dr. Sadao Hoki, a qualified Japanese doctor, educated in the U.S. now serving in Japan
- Found an American prisoner of war badly wounded, near their house
- Decided to get him home and save him
- Servants offended, refused to help
- The General sent a messenger to call Sadao
- Sadao confided in the General and told him about the prisoner
- The General assured to get him killed by the assassins but forgot to do so.
- Sadao helped the prisoner to escape
Methodology/Activities:
- Silent reading
- Loud model reading
- Group discussion
- Debate

Teaching aids:
- Power point presentation
- OHP
- Similar stories from Internet for reference

Evaluation:
 LEVEL I
1. Who was Dr. Sadao?
2. Who was the man who had been washed ashore in front of Dr. Sadao’s house
3. What did Sadao and Hana do with the man?
4. Did the servant cooperate with them? If not, why?
5. Why did the messenger came to call Sadao?
6. How did the General offer to help Sadao to get rid of the American?
7. Did the American escape? Who helped him and why?

 LEVEL II
1. Give details of the two things that happened on the seventh day after the wounded American soldier was brought in the house of Dr. Sadao.
2. Why did Sadao tell the General about the American soldier?
3. How did the servants react to the decision of the Sadao’s to keep the American prisoner in their house?
4. How did Sadao help him escape?

 LEVEL III
1. Individuals who belong to any country tend to hate each other even if they do not know each other personally. At times it is seen that some of them rise above such prejudice. Comment with reference to ‘The Enemy’.
2. I you were Dr. Sadao what would you have done to the American prisoner?

Chapter 5
SHOULD WIZRD HIT MOMMY?
(John Updike)

Objectives:
- To develop the skill of extensive reading
- To make the students aware of social issues-dominance of parents
- To make the students realize the importance of one’s own individuality

Contents:
- The basic story told by Jack to his daughter to about Roger
- The theme that adults perspective on life is different from that of a child
- To accept whatever nature has given
- Children should not be snubbed and given freedom to disagree?

Methodology/Activities:
- Question/Answer technique
- Peer work
- Group work
- Class discussion

Teaching Aids:
- Handouts
- Chalk and Blackboard
- Transparencies

Assignments:
 LEVEL I
1. What did Jo look forward to on Saturday?
2. Why did Jack find his story telling sessions boring now?
3. What was Roger spunk’s problem?
4. What did Roger spunk do to get his problem solved?
5. Where did the wizard live?
6. How did Roger’s mother react to his changed smell?
7. What did spunk’s mother do to get his old smell back?

 LEVEL II
1. Did Jack agree with Jo’s ending? What did he say to defend the mother?
2. How did Jack make the basic theme of the story interesting?
3. Did Jo approve of mother’s action? What did she want the story to be like?
4. Why did Jack feel trapped?
5. How did Jo react to Roger Spunk’s acceptance by his friends?

 LEVEL III
1. Do you think the character of the wizard is fashioned as Jack would have liked himself to be?
2. Why did Jo not like the end of Roger Spunk’s story? What does it reflects of her personality?
3. Justify the title of the story?
4. What issues does the story raise? Are they relevant in today’s content?

CHAPTER-6
ON THE FACE OF IT

Objectives:-
• To develop four skills of learning language. Reading, writing, listening and speaking.
• To develop usage and enrichment of vocabulary.
• To develop positive attitude towards life.

Content:-
• Mr. Lamb extends a hand of friendship to Derry who enters his garden.
• Mr. Lamb advises him to develop a positive attitude towards life.
• Derry initially suspicious, accepts his friendship.
• His brief association with Mr. Lamb brings about a great transformation in Derry.
• He goes to inform his mother and she opposes his meeting with Mr. Lamb.
• Derry comes back and finds Mr. Lamb dead.

Methodology/Activities:-
• Role play.
• Group discussion.

Teaching Aids:-
• PowerPoint presentation.
• Blackboard.
Evaluation:-
 LEVEL 1
1. Who was Mr. Lamb? What did he say to Derry when he saw him coming into his garden?
2. What does Derry tell about his face?
3. Why does Mr. Lamb give example of bees?
4. What do you know about Mr. Lamb and his attitude towards life?

 LEVEL 2
1. Why was Derry withdrawn himself from the world?
2. Why does Derry come back to see Mr. Lamb?
3. Point out Mr. Lamb’s views on life?
4. How does Mr. Lamb help Derry to accept the realities of life?

 LEVEL3
1. Why and how does Derry get into Mr. Lamb’s garden?
2. How does Derry conclude that people are afraid of him? Are the people really afraid?
3. How did Mr. Lamb try to convince Derry that the outer looks don’ts make any difference?
4. “Handicaps should be accepted in life” elucidate the statement with reference to the play. ‘On The Face Of It’.
OR
Justify the title of the play.

Lesson:-7
Evans tries an O level

Objectives:-
1. Developing LSRW skills in English
2. Developing extensive reading
3. To develop vocabulary
4. Multi-dimensional approach –to tricky problems
Contents:-
1. A prisoner named James Evans is in Oxford prison
2. He wants to sits for examination in O-level German
3. Three-time Evans had escaped from prison, so the governor takes several precautions to ensure that Evans does not make a bid to escape.
4. Battle of wits between criminals and punishing authorities.
5. Evans and his gang have the last laugh because they are good planners and smart enough to foresee things.
Methodology
1. Role play
2. Group discussion
3. Quiz
4. Question/Answer method

Teaching aid
1. Quiz
2. Group activity
3. Detective serials

Evaluation

 LEVEL-1
1. What kind of a person was Evans?
2. Why was Evans known as ‘Evans the break’ by the prison officers?
3. What made Evan clip his hair short?
4. Who is Carter? What does the Governor want him to do and Why?
5. How did the Governor manage to reach Evans in the hotel?

 LEVEL-II
1. What were the precautions taken for the smooth conduct of the Examination?
2. How did the governor manage to track down Evans? How did he escape again?
3. Why does Evans feel particularly annoyed at his having been taken away? Is his annoyance justified?

 LEVEL-III
1. Reflecting on the story what do you feel about Evans having the last laugh?
2. Give an account of the blunders committed by the prison authorities which resulted in making Evan’s escape plan a success.
3. Describe how carter was dodged by the wounded man?
4. Do you agree that between crime and punishment it is mainly a battle of wits? Discuss with respect to the story ‘Evan Tries an o Level’

Lesson –no 8
Memories of Childhood

Objectives:
1. Developing comprehension
2. Broader outlook.
3. Understanding the problems related to casteism and racial discrimination
Contents:
Zitkala was a Native Read Indian American. Who was a victim of racial discrimination? Bama experienced humiliation on account of her low caste. Both raised their voice against the awareness about equality among their communities.

Methodology/Activity:
1. Silent reading
2. group discussion on the oppressed and the oppressed.

Teaching Aids:
Stories from the ‘internet, on personalities. Who fought against social injustice?

Evaluation
 LEVEL 1
1. Who are Zithlkala-sa and bama?
2. What is common about the memories of their childhood?
3. Describe the anthor’s first day at school.
4. why was Zitkala-sa ipset when her hair was being cut?
5. What was made Bama take nearly one hour to cover a distance needing just ten minuts only?
6. What was the impact of hair-cutting incident on the life of Zitkala-sa?

FLAMINGO

POEMS

Poem:01
Topic: My Mother at sixty-six
(Kamala sas.)
Objectives:
• To sensitize students to poetic from
• To enable students to interpret the lyrical qualities and the poem.
• To elate the students, life.
Contents:
• Poetess’ realization about her Mother’s ailing health
• Recollection and childhood fears
• Compare son and scenes inside and outside care
• Works and pasting
• Attempt to overcome anxiety and fears.
Methodology/Activity:
• Recitation by the teacher/CD script and students listing without test of the poem
• Discussion on human relationships
• Model Reading by a few students simple comprehension questions.
• Poetic/literary devices
Teaching aids:
• Visual and the Nectars bidding goodbye to mother
• Tape recorder/CD Player
• Blackboard/match stick figures on board.
• Information from Internet
Assignments:
 LEVEL I
1. What did the poetess notice about her mother?
2. What did the mother do and look like while going in the car to the air port?
3. Why does the poetess say: “see you soon Amma!”?
 LEVEL II
1. What does the poetess realize with pain?
2. What is the constant between the scene inside and outside the car?
3. What was the childhood fear?
4. Why was the though a familiar ache?

 LEVEL III
1. Why does the poetess smile and smile?
2. What do parting words signify?
3. The poetess seems to suffer a silent going?
4. How did the poetess happen to write this poem?

Poem-2
An elementary School Classroom in a slum
(Stephen spender)
Objectives:

 To appreciate the poetic beauty
 To interpret the poem
 To identify the poetic devices.
 Understanding the poem for comprehension.
 To aware about the blight of slum dwellers.
Contents:-
 Slum children living in Sub-human conditions
 Slum children deluding elementary schools.
 Poet’s own desire to improve their lot.
Methodology/Activities:-
 Model Reading
 Silent Reading
 Question Answer technique
 Discussion on Slums.

Teaching Aids:

 P.P.T Showing slum are a schools.
 Handouts with question are
Assignments:-
 LEVEL I
1. Tick the right answers from the following:
(A) The tall girl with her head weighed down means-
The girl
I. Is ill and exhausted
II. Has her head bent with shame
III. Has her untidy hair
(B) The paper-seeming boy with rat’s eyes means-
The boy
i. Sly and secretive
ii. Hun, hungry and weak
iii. Unpleasant looking
2. How does the poet describe the slum children
3. How does the classroom in the elementary school in the slum look like?
 LEVEL II
i. What do sour cream walls symbolize
ii. What do you narrow street symbolize?
iii. What does the poet wish for the children of the slum?
 LEVEL III
i. The poem ‘An Elementary school classroom in a slum is about social injustice comment.
ii. To The poet the maps and pictures on the walls of classroom are meaningless in the context of the lives of the slum children. Why does he feel so?
iii. What according to the poet is the only hope for the slum children?

Poem 3
Keeping Quit
(Pablo Neruda)
Objectives:
1. TO derive pleasure and entertainment
2. To heighten students sensitivity to poetry.
3. To identify the poetic devices
4. To appreciate the poetic beauty
Contents:-
1. The poem is a call for introspection for all human beings who have divided themselves on the basis of race, language and nationalities.
2. The poem is presented in the form is presented in the form of an exercise for meditation in silence.
3. To feel the strength of humanity
Methodology/Activities:-
1. Recitation
2. Experience and meditation
3. Stanza wise explanation
4. Images of the destruction caused to Hiroshima and Nagasaki .
5. Live visual of peace
6. Discussion on the topic ‘Horrors of war’
Teaching/Learning Aids
Same as above
Activities will be used as teaching learning Aids.
Assignments:-
 LEVEL 1:
i. What does the poet want the people on earth to do for once? How would they benefit?
ii. When and why would the fisherman not harm the whales?
iii. Who are the people who prepare green wars?
iv. How and when does ever thing seem dead?
 LEVEL 2:
i. What does the poet, mean b y ‘doing nothing ‘?
ii. What lesson man to learn from earth?
iii. How will the ‘man gathering salt’ react when he looks at his hurt hands?

 LEVEL 3.
i. How does the poet visualize life? Why does he refuse to associate it with death?
ii. What is the sadness that the poet refers? What does the poet recommend use do to overcome it?
iii. Does the poet advocate complete activity and death? How would you justify his stand?

Poem no.4
Topic: A Thing of beauty (John Keats)
Objectives:
 To sensitize students to poetic from
 Introduce students to poetic devices
 To understand ideal Beauty
 Quest of human soul for Beauty
Contents:-
 Beautiful objects source of constant joy
 Beauty has lasting impressions on mends
 Beautiful thoughts and memories bends man to earth
 All the object beauty cast an enchanting spell
 Grandeur of the mighty dead is also beautiful
Methodology/Activity
 PowerPoint Prostrations
 Model reading by the teacher/audio cassette/CD.
 Recitation by the students
 Interaction with students on the contents in each stanza.
Teaching Aids:
i. objects of beauty
ii. Portrait of patriot or a hero
iii. Beautiful scenery depicting nature at its best
Assignments
 LEVEL-1
i. List the thing of beauty mentioned in the poem?
ii. List the thing that cause suffering and pain?
iii. How does a thing of beauty remain a joy for ever?
iv. Mention any two sources of joy?

 Level-II
i. What make human beings love life in spite of sufferings?
ii. What do “grander of the dooms” signify?
iii. What images does the poet use to describe the bounty of earth?
iv. What massage the poem conveys on a whole?

 Level-III
i. Why grandeur is associated with the mighty dead?
ii. How does the poem highlight the poet”s immense faith in the divine?
iii. What image does the poet use to describe the beautiful bounty of the earth?
iv. How does beauty leave an indelible imprint on our mind?

Peom-5
A ROADSIDE STAND
(Robert Frost)
Objectives:
• To sensitize students to poetic form.
• To identify the poetic devices.
• To make aware of the economic disparity that prevails in the cities and the countryside.
• To make aware of the callous attitude of the government, the civic authorities.
Contents:
i. why and where the shed is built
ii. hope of the villagers
iii. colons attitude of the rich people
iv. poor people trust often betrayal by the rich
v. Longing of village folk for some help from the city elite
vi. Poet pain at the plight of villagers?
Methodology/ suggested Activities.
• Model reading
• Silent reading
• Lund reading
• Handouts
• Groups works
• Discussion

Teaching /Learning Aids
• Chalk and blackboard
• Handouts
• PowerPoint presentation.

Assignments
 LEVEL-1
i. Why have the villagers erected the roadside stand?
ii. What are the things offered for sale at the roadside stand?
iii. What near the plea of folks who had put up the roadside stand?
iv. What are the complaints made by the polished city dwellers?
v. What has been promised to the village people?
vi. What does the poet want for the village people?

 LEVEL-II
i. Why are the city dwellers called greedy good doers and beneficiates beasts of prey”?
ii. Why do villagers ask for the city money in their hands,?
iii. What is the childish long being talked of?
iv. Bring out the poetic devices used by the poet?

 LEVEL-III
i. What did the greedy goody doers do to the poor rural people?
ii. Explain “scram ones their relief to the poet?
iii. What does the poet envisage for the village folks?

Poem-6
Topic: Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

Objectives
i. To enjoy the poem
ii. To understand the poem
iii. To appreciate the poetic devise
iv. To infer the deeper meaning/message
Contents:
i. Aunt Jennifer created tigers prancing freely proudly and fearlessly in the green world
ii. They are unafraid and step with chivalric certainty
iii. Aunt’s finger fluttering and mind troubled and nervous
iv. Aunt feeling the massive weight of her wedding band
v. Her fingers will not be free from the ordeals after death
vi. Tigers will go on prancing proudly.
Methodology/Activities
i. Reading aloud by the teacher
ii. Question and answer method.
Teaching Aids:
i. PowerPoint presentation
ii. Black Board

Evaluation
 LEVEL-1
i. How do Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers look like?
ii. What are they doing?
iii. Aunt’s fingers are fluttering through her wool. This suggest---
iv. What is Aunt wearing on her fingers? How does he feel about it?
v. What will the tigers do when Aunt is dead?
 LEVEL-II
i. What image ‘Prancing’ Create in your mind about the tigers?
ii. Explain the line Bright topaz denizens of a word of green”
iii. How does Aunt feel while pulling out her ivory needle? What does it suggest?
iv. Which words suggest that she does not enjoy the ‘wedding band’?
v. Which poetic device is used in the line____-_____her terrified hands will lie still ringed _ _ _ _by”.
 LEVEL-III
i. How do ‘denizens’ and ‘chivalric’ add to our understanding of the tiger’s attitude?
ii. What are the ‘ordeals’ that Aunt Jennifer is surrounded by? Why has the poet used the word the ringed’
iii. Interpret the symbols used in the poem
iv. Why do you think Aunt created animals that are so different?
v. Explain the message conveyed through the poem.

Inspiration Today

2010-11-30T20:21:00.000-08:00

The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of conscience.

Famous Poems

2010-11-29T20:29:00.000-08:00

Mending Wall
by Robert Frost

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it
And spills the upper boulder in the sun,
And make gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there,
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
"Stay where you are until our backs are turned!"
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of outdoor game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There were it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, "Good fences make good neighbors."
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
"Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down." I could say "Elves" to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there,
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having though of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."

Ghost House
by Robert Frost

I DWELL in a lonely house I know
That vanished many a summer ago,
And left no trace but the cellar walls,
And a cellar in which the daylight falls,
And the purple-stemmed wild raspberries grow.

O'er ruined fences the grape-vines shield
The woods come back to the mowing field;
The orchard tree has grown one copse
Of new wood and old where the woodpecker chops;
The footpath down to the well is healed.

I dwell with a strangely aching heart
In that vanished abode there far apart
On that disused and forgotten road
That has no dust-bath now for the toad.
Night comes; the black bats tumble and dart;

The whippoorwill is coming to shout
And hush and cluck and flutter about:
I hear him begin far enough away
Full many a time to say his say
Before he arrives to say it out.

It is under the small, dim, summer star.
I know not who these mute folk are
Who share the unlit place with me--
Those stones out under the low-limbed tree
Doubtless bear names that the mosses mar.

They are tireless folk, but slow and sad,
Though two, close-keeping, are lass and lad,--
With none among them that ever sings,
And yet, in view of how many things,
As sweet companions as might be had.

Home They Brought Her Warrior Dead
by Lord Alfred Tennyson

Home they brought her warrior dead:
She nor swooned, nor uttered cry:
All her maidens, watching, said,
‘She must weep or she will die.’

Then they praised him, soft and low,
Called him worthy to be loved,
Truest friend and noblest foe;
Yet she neither spoke nor moved.

Stole a maiden from her place,
Lightly to the warrior stepped,
Took the face-cloth from the face;
Yet she neither moved nor wept.

Rose a nurse of ninety years,
Set his child upon her knee—
Like summer tempest came her tears—
‘Sweet my child, I live for thee.’

Mindbender for the day

2010-10-18T00:02:00.000-07:00

A sailor without destination cannot hope for a favourable wind.

Rime of the Ancient Mariner

2010-10-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

MIRROR

2010-10-10T06:33:00.000-07:00

• It is a short poem that moves around a common household article – a mirror.

• Almost each one of us looks into the mirror everyday. By using the first person narrative , the poetess makes the mirror narrate its own story.

• The mirror is a dispassionate and unbiased observer. It has no prejudices or false notions.

• It reflects persons and things faithfully and objectively. The woman who watches the mirror constantly feels sad to discover that she drowned the young girl that she was in the lake of the mirror and the face of an old woman is rising towards her day by day which looks ugly and hideous like a terrible fish.

Poetic Devices Used

Metaphor
• I am silver & exact.
• I am…the eye of a little god, four cornered.
• Now I am a lake.

Simile

• Like a terrible fish

Personification

The mirror has been personified and been given human characteristics.
• Judgement : I have no preconceptions.
• Sight : whatever I see I swallow immediately just as it is.
• Temperament : (unbiased) - unmisted by love or dislike.
-I am not cruel
-only truthful

A Synopsis of the Poem

The poem talks about truth related to our own selves.

It explores the relationship that we have with truth, and particularly the truth about our own selves.

In the first verse, Sylvia Plath imagines the thoughts of a mirror, chosen because it is an object we all turn to in search of a kind of truth.
It is presented as objective – ‘exact’ and without ‘preconceptions’, swallowing whatever it sees without a second thought, ’unmisted by love or dislike’.

The mirror is,‘ not cruel, only truthful’ – but truth itself is cruel for human beings, and we turn away from it. Presenting only our backs to those mirrors that offer to show us the unbiased truth.

In the second verse, the mirror is replaced by the lake, something else which humans have traditionally gazed into, in search of their own reflection.

Plath presents us with a woman ‘searching ( the mirror’s) reaches for what she really is, ‘ but the figure cannot bear the truth she finds, and turns her back on it in favour of ‘those liars’-‘ the candles or the moon,’ both images traditionally associated with romance.

Yet we cannot live without knowing the reality about ourselves, even if what we find upsets us- and so each morning the woman is back, even though it is only to cry and wring her hands at what she sees. To know the truth is torture, and yet we continue to torture ourselves.

What makes the poem particularly striking is the viewpoint Plath adopts – she writes as the mirror itself.

This brings an added poignancy to this poem about isolation: the only person more lonely than the receiver of bad news is its bearer, perhaps. The mirror’s life is an unfulfilled one – it can do no more than ‘meditate on the opposite wall’ , and even the dignity of the word ‘meditate’ is undermined by its object, a wall painted pink, with speckles’.

Throughout the poem, it is the mirror which meditates, which has hidden reaches, which has a heart and behaves ‘faithfully’. But the woman ‘comes and goes … day after day’. She merely ‘rewards (it) with tears and an agitation of hands’, turning her back on it and yet unable to stay away, returning every morning to replace the darkness. The relationship between the mirror and the woman is evidently a complex one – they need each other, and yet cause each other pain, too.

In this poem, Plath – who committed suicide less than 18 months later – adopts the mirror’s viewpoint in order to explore her ambivalent feelings about herself.
‘Mirror’ juxtaposes the images of love and cruelty, truth and dislike, flickering light and darkness.

One minute the mirror is ‘a little god’ , the next it is needy and alone. It longs to be loved and yet it is in the woman’s suffering. He receives her ‘tears’ and ‘agitation’ and calls it a ‘ reward’.

Ahead lies a terrible future for the woman. The description of herself as a ‘terrible fish’ --- a cold and emotionless woman --- rises to torture Sylvia Plath.

**********************************************

Inspiration Today

2010-09-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

Relationship is not leaving behind old people when you find new ones.
It is all about preserving dried roses between pages inspite of bieng gifted a rose daily.

Motivation For The Day

2010-09-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

Life and time are the two great teachers,
Life teaches you the use of time and
Time teaches you the value of life…

Mindbender for the Day

2010-09-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

Coins always make a sound.
But the Currency notes are always silent.
So when your value increases,KEEP yourself Calm & Silent.

CBSE Sample Paper Summative Assessment 1

2010-09-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

CLASS IX
English Communicative
Maximum marks: 80 Time-3hours
The question paper is divided into four sections.
Section A: Reading comprehension 20 marks
Section B: Writing 20 marks
Section C: Grammar 20 marks
Section D: Literature 20 marks

SECTION A
(READING -20 MARKS)
Q1 Read the following passage carefully. (5 Marks)
Sponsored Festivals
This is the high noon of the Age of Sponsorship. For several years now, we have become used to all kinds of events being sponsored. In many newspapers, every possible feature, barring the editorials, is sponsored. Even the daily weather report is.
Student organizations, which were once content to hold low-key festivals in their college, now find corporate sponsors and get massive media exposure for such events.
Ganesh Chaturthi, the festival was once an affair confined to individual homes. Today, in Mumbai it provides competition for rival sponsors as the size of the idols grows in height and girth every year and the festivities are held with greater gusto and noise
During Dushera, Mumbai reverberates to the beat of drums. Thousands of young people spend nights dancing to the various versions of the traditional Gujarati ‘garba’ dance- including the mutant-“disco garba”. It is one of those strange twists of irony that dance, which actually liberated women and gave them a legitimate reason to dance their hearts out, has now become a highly sponsored event in which there is no place for traditional ‘garba’ dancers. In the past, the dancing was free of both self consciousness, as it was a women’s dance, and commerce as it was held in the courtyard.
Thus each year something precious is being lost –and the worst part of it is that the majority of us are not even aware of it.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) It is called the age of sponsorship as
a) there’s too much money in the market
b) newspapers , festivals in colleges are all commercialized
c) common man loves the paraphernalia
d) money attracts the common man

2) The role Garba played in the lives of the women in the past was to
a) help them get rid of their inhibitions
b) provide a stage for their talent
c) root them in tradition
d) prove commercially viable for them

3) Today Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival that
a) is confined to individual homes
b) provides an opportunity for sponsors to invest money
c) is held with great fanfare
d) has a few sponsors

4) ‘Mutant ’ in para 4 means
a) crazy
b) unimaginable
c) dangerous
d) adapted or changed

5) According to the author the greatest tragedy of sponsorship is
a) the loss of money
b) the focus on unnecessary expenditure
c) the common man is being duped
d) the loss of the essence of our culture without realizing it

Q2 Read the following poem carefully: (5 Marks)
WHAT I LEAVE TO MY SON
No point in leaving you a long list
Of those who have died
Even if I limit it to my friends and your uncles
It won’t do. Who could remember them all?
My son, isn’t it true?
The obituaries leave me indifferent
as the weather. Sometimes they seem to matter
Even less: How can that be, my son?
I’ll leave you , yes,
A treasure I’m always seeking, never finding
Can you guess? Something wondrous
Something my father wanted for me
Although (poor man!) it’s been nothing
But a mirage in the desert
Of my life.
My soul will join his now, praying
That your generation may find it-
Simply peace-
Simply a life better than ours
Where you and friends won’t be forced
To drag grief-laden feet down the road
To mutual murder.
Nguyen Ngoc Bich

Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) The obituaries and weather
a) have no significance for the poet
b) leave the poet depressed
c) matter a lot to the poet
d) are an integral part of the poet’s survival
2) The legacy the poet wishes to leave to his son is
a) To live a life devoid of hatred
b) To have a better life than his own generation
c) To be a happy and responsible citizens
d) All of the above
3) Mutual murder is an example of
a) Imagery
b) Alliteration
c) Metaphor
d) Simile
4) The poet‘s father’s wishes have been nothing but
a) A dream
b) Something wondrous
c) Treasure he always is seeking
d) A mirage in the desert of his life
5) The expression drag grief laden feet means
a) A life that has no aim
b) Being unhappy
c) Leading a slow life
d) Leading a life of monotony

Q3 Read the following passage carefully: (5 Marks)
The tree was young and strong and it took a long time to kill. It took two workmen with axes, two days, including tea breaks. Which without conscious irony, they took in the shade of the leafy branches of the tree they were chopping down. It was a Gulmohar I had planted 13 years ago, along with several other saplings, when Bunny and I moved into the National media centre. The NMC is built on a little over 22 acres and many hundreds of the local babul trees that used to cloak that part of the Haryana countryside like smoke from evening chullas must have been cut down to make way for the brick and cement of our colony. I’m not a tree hugger but still felt that some restitution was due. So Bunny and I planted several saplings.
The two gulmohars at the rear were foot high saplings when we put them in the soil. In a few years their branches aflame with scarlet flowers in summer, rose above the first floor window, flooding the room with afterglow and screening from view the ugly scars of new construction in what had once been open fields behind our house. I felt the smugness of satisfaction, of having done the right thing. I’d given back, in however small a way, a little bit of what we take away from the earth everyday, everywhere.
Righteousness invites its own revenge. The roots of one of the trees had spread, crushing the sewage system. The handyman gave us the choice of either cutting down the tree or its roots would endanger the foundations of the house.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate option from the ones given below:
1) The irony in the first para is that the
a) The tree was planted by the author but cut by the workmen
b) The workmen chopped the tree that gave them shade.
c) It took 13 years for the tree to grow
d) The author was not passionate about trees yet he planted them

2) When the colony was settled, the author decided to
a) make the outskirts greener
b) plant a few saplings around the house
c) sulk in depression
d) start a movement

3) The feeling the newly grown gulmohar trees evoked in the author was of
a) remorse
b) pride
c) self - satisfaction
d) regret

4) The writer had to get the free felled because
a) he was being righteous
b) the house was in danger of being destroyed
c) the tree had grown too tall
d) the sewage system was damaged

5) Being righteous means
a) Doing things the correct way
b) Being aware of your rights
c) Following your heart
d) Conscious of the ways of the world
Q4 Read the following passage carefully: (5 Marks)
Ask any parent anywhere on the planet and they will tell you that there is nothing sinister, nothing as singularly depressing as Arpita’s copy.
Now this is not just a copy where a tidy conscientious child writes in copious details about everything, taking care to label things in boxes and uses eighteen different coloured pencils while describing ‘My favourite holiday’. This is actually a sinister plot hatched to make your parenting skills look bad by rival parents with way too much time, patience and colouring ability on their side. The child is merely an instrument; it is the parents who are graded.
The whole school evaluation process grades parents with a bewilderingly complex classification that involves stars, smileys, goods, very goods, keep it up. Are two smileys better than a ‘good’ and a ‘keep it up’? And what about Arpita? What has she got?
Today the child is seen as an entity that is moldable and the role of the parent is to build a person out of a child. This puts tremendous responsibility on parents who believe that their actions determine their child’s future and hence every small step becomes a BIG PROJECT where a minor mistake would make your child a dribbling sociopath tomorrow.
Hence the persistent belief that enough is not being done for the child inspite of the unfortunate truth that more than enough is being done to him. Children need to perform in order to make parents feel good about themselves. In that sense, not much has changed; children still become instruments for the realisation of some parental goals. If earlier getting Into Science was enough to make parents proud, now almost nothing is good enough. Ninety per cent is too little and one extra-curricular activity too basic. And yes, there is always an Arpita lurking somewhere with her wretched copy.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate option from the ones given below:
1) The aspect of parenting that has not changed over the years is
a) Expectations from children by society
b) Belief that nothing has changed
c) Parents using children to realize their dreams.
d) Parents doing the school assignments for their children

2) The word ‘sinister’ in Para 1 means:
a) Sinful
b) Complex
c) Evil
d) Bad

3) The role Arpita plays in the writer’s life is that of
a) someone who provides inspiration
b) somebody who depresses her
c) someone who pressurises her to do well
d) someone who competes with the writer

4) The writer is critical of the parents because
a) they take their role very seriously
b) nothing satisfies them
c) at every step, they worry about their child’s future
d) all of the above

5) The tone of the passage is
a) encouraging
b) remorseful
c) mocking
d) sympathetic

SECTION B
(WRITING-20 MARKS)
Q5 Write a paragraph using the notes of a journalist on the issue of extinction of species. (4 Marks)
ON THE VERGE OF EXTINCTION
• Project- launched –Natural History Museum, London
• Protection of vast species
• Mass wipe out in Decades
• Consequence of human action--- wars, taking away too much from nature, hunting, loss of habitats

Q6. You have been reading incidents of foreign tourists being duped and cheated of their
money and valuables, incidents of inhospitable behavior and eve teasing. As a concerned
citizen, write an e-mail to the Editor of a National daily expressing your views on the issue
and also giving suggestions on how to make our city a safer tourist destination. The
format of e-mail is given. (8 Marks)
Date:
From:
Subject:
To:
Dear Sir

Regards
Name

Q7. Now a days the youth are taking upon themselves different roles and responsibilities.
They also have varied interests. Recently you came across the following pictures in a
magazine. Using the information you gather from the picture and ideas of your own,
write an article on, ‘The Changing Role of Youngsters’. (8 Marks)

SECTION C
(GRAMMAR – 20 MARKS)
Q8 Complete the following passage by choosing the most appropriate options from the ones
given below. Write the answer in your answer sheet: (4 Marks)
Q7 Like many Indian children, I grew up (a)----------- the vast, varied and fascinating tales of the Mahabharata. Set (b)------- the end of what the Hindu scriptures term Dvapur Yuga or the third age of the man, a time (c)----------- the lives of the Gods and people still intersected, the epic weaves myth, history, religion, science and statecraft (d)------- stories.
a) (i) saying (ii) listening to (iii) questioning (iv) celebrating
b) (i)by (ii)at (iii)from (iv)into
c) (i)where (ii)from (iii)when (iv)before
d) (i)as (ii)in (iii)through (iv)into
Q9. Edit the following passage by choosing the correct option from the options given below:
(4 Marks)
Blood letting was a common practice in ancient times. The doctors used to treat patients (a) by the help of leeches. It was generally believed that certain diseases (b) caused by too much of blood or by impure blood getting blocked in some parts of the body. The doctors(c) were make a slit on the body or attach leeches there. They sucked the blood (d) not prevented it from clotting.
a) (i)from (ii)with (iii)in (iv)as
b) i)were caused (ii)cause (iii)will be caused (iv)are caused
C) (i)should (ii)will (iii)was (iv)would
d) (i)and (ii)but (iii)or (iv)while

Q10. Read the following conversation carefully and complete the following passage by
choosing the most appropriate option. (4 Marks)

Ranbir: Where is my car? I remember parking it here.
Policeman: The car has been towed away as you parked it in the ‘no parking area’
Ranbir: Sir, can I be excused this time?
Policeman: I hope you’ll remember the lesson you learnt today
Ranbir asked the policeman standing there (a)_________. The policeman replied (b)_________ Ranbir requested the policeman (c)___________________. The policeman then reminded him____ (d)____________.

1)
a) where was his car? He remembered parking it here.
b) that where his car was? He remembered parking it there.
c) where his car was. He remembered parking it there.
d) that where was my car? He remembered it was parked here.

2)
a) that the car had been towed away because he had parked it in the ‘no parking’ zone.
b) that the car was towed away because he had parked it in the ‘no parking’ zone.
c) the car had been towed away because it had been parked in the ‘no parking’ zone.
d) that the car had been towed away because it had been parked in the ‘no parking’ zone.

3)
a) to be excused that time.
b) whether he could be excused that time.
c) that he should be excused.
d) whether he could be excused this time.

4)
a) that he hoped he will have to remember the lesson he had learnt that day.
b) That he hoped he should be able to remember the lesson he had learnt that day.
c) that he has to remember the lesson he had learnt that day
d) that he hoped he would remember the lesson he had learnt that day.

Q11 Complete the Report by choosing the correct answer from the options given below:
(4 Marks)
1) Sangeeta Mane-30, delivers conjoined twins-Indapur

Conjoined twins-----------------------------------------by Sangeeta Mane,aged 30, in Indapur.
a) were delivered b) have been delivered c) will be delivered d) have to be delivered

2) The birth of healthy twins- Pune poses a challenge-the medical profession
A challenge----------------------------------------to the medical profession by the birth of healthy twins in Pune.
a) was posed b) is posed c) is being posed d) has been posed

3) The twins-2day old-share one liver
One liver-----------------------------------------------shared by the two - day old twins.
a) was being b)was c)is d)is being

4) the scientists bring –twins- Indapur to a pune hospital-under medical supervision
The twins________________under medical supervision from Indapur to a Pune hospital by the scientists.
a) are brought b)are being brought c)were brought d)were being brought

Q. 12. Below you can see a set of instructions for using a pipette to measure a required amount of
water. Imagine that you have completed this procedure. Complete the following paragraph
reporting what you did by choosing the correct options. (4 Marks)
Take a pipette and dip the nozzle into water in a vessel.
Suck out the air through the other end.
When the water rises to the mark on the pipette, cover its upper end and take the pipette out.
Then empty the water in the pipette into a beaker.
A pipette was taken and the nozzle was dipped into water in a vessel. a) ……………… through the other end. When b) ……………… ……. on the pipette, its upper end was covered and c) ………………. Then d) ……………… into a beaker.
(a) (i) the air is being sucked out (ii) the air has been sucked out
(iii) the air will be sucked out (iv) the air was sucked out
(b) (i) the water was raised to the mark (ii) the water rose to the mark
(iii) the water will rise to the mark (iv) the water is rising to the mark
(c) (i) the pipette was taken out (ii) the pipette is to be taken out
(iii) the pipette has been taken out (iv) the pipette will be taken out
(d) (i) the water of a pipette was emptied (ii) the water in the pipette was emptied
(iii) the water of the pipette is emptied (iv) the water in the pipette is to be emptied

SECTION D
(LITERATURE -20 MARKS)
Q 13 Read the extracts and answer the following questions by choosing the most appropriate options. Attempt any two: (2X 3=6 Marks)

a) And by my word! the bonny bride
In danger shall not tarry
So, though the waves are raging white
I’ll row you over the ferry

1) And by my word is indicative of the speaker being
a) a man who can ferry his boat confidently
b) a man who knew the bonny bride
c) a man who honoured his word
d) a man full of fake promises

2) The speaker promises to row accross
a) the chief of Ulva and Lord Ullin’s daughter
b) the chief of Ulva and his wife
c) Lord Ullin and his daughter
d) Lord Ullin and chief of Ulva

3) Waves are raging white –the imagery used here is
a) simile
b) personification
c) metaphor
d) alliteration

b) “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could nor travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth:

1) ‘A yellow wood’ denotes…………………
a) A wood painted yellow
b) Autumn season
c) Trees with yellow flowers
d) Dried leaves on the forest flower

2) The poet regrets………………………………
a) He could nor travel on both the roads simultaneously
b) He has become old
c) The roads were covered with thick undergrowth
d) The paths were not clearly visible

3) He chooses……………………………
a) The road which has been traveled by many
b) The road which looks more attractive
c) The road which very few have tread upon
d) The road which has less grass

c) Gaston: Certainly not…………just as a souvenir
1) The line is being addressed to _______________.
a) Gaston
b) Juliette
c) Maid
d) Jeanne

2) The souvenir is important because
a) Gaston wished to buy the villa
b) Julliette was emotionally attached to it
c) It was a witness to the deal Gaston struck with Mrs. AL Smith
d) Gaston’s wife had developed a fancy towards it

3) Jeanne was surprised as
a) Gaston was ready to buy the villa
b) Julliette decided to strike a deal with them
c) Julliette’s parents were allowed to stay in the villa
d) Mr. Al. Smith helped to strike a deal
Q14. Answer any four of the following questions. (30-40 words each)
(2x4= 8 Marks)
a) Why does Frost choose the road less travelled?
b) ‘Kashi Yatre’ was grandmother’s favorite novel. Why? Give two reasons.
c) What are the two ways in which the Brook is similar to life?
d) Briefly mention the two things that capture the poet’s attention in the poem ‘Solitary Reaper’.
e) Mention any two characteristics of Gaston’s personality that make him a better businessman than Juliette.

Q 15. As the author of ‘How I Taught My Grandmother to Read’ , write a letter to your grandmother appreciating her determination and strength of character. (6 Marks)
OR
As a reader, make a diary entry discussing your reaction to the relationship shared
between Charles and Duke. (6Marks)

CBSE Sample Paper for Summative Assessment 1

2010-09-14T19:55:00.000-07:00

CLASS X
English - Communicative
Maximum marks: 80 Time-3 hours
The question paper is divided into three sections.
Section A: Reading comprehension 20 marks
Section B: Writing 20 marks
Section C: Grammar 20 marks
Section D: Literature 20 marks

SECTION- A
(Reading -20 Marks)
Q 1 Read the following passage carefully: (5 Marks)
We are in a rush. We are making haste. A compression of time characterises our lives. As time-use researchers look around, they see a rushing and scurrying everywhere.
Instant services rule, pollsters use electronic devices during political speeches to measure opinions before they have been fully formed; fast food restaurants add express lanes. Even reading to children is under pressure. The volume “One Minute Bedtime Stories” consists of traditional stories that can be read by a busy parent in only one minute.
Time is a gentle deity, said Sophocles. Perhaps it was, for him. These days it cracks the whip. We humans have chosen speed and we thrive on it – more than we generally admit. Our ability to work fast and play fast gives us power. It thrills us. And if haste is the accelerator, multitasking is the overdrive.
A sense of well being comes with this saturation of parallel pathways in the brain. We choose mania over boredom every time. “Humans have never opted for slower,” points out the historian Stephen Kern. We catch the fever –and cramming our life feels good.
There are definite ways to save time, but what does this concept really mean? Does time saving mean getting more done? If so, does talking on a cellular phone at the beach save time or waste it? Does it make sense to say that driving saves ten minutes from your travel budget while removing ten minutes from your reading budget?
These questions have no answer. They depend on a concept that is ill formed; the very idea of time saving. Some of us say we want to save time when we really want to do more and faster. It might be simpler to recognize that there is time and we make choices about how to spend it, how to spare it, how to use it and how to fill it.
Time is not a thing we have lost. It is not a thing we ever had. It is what we live in.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) What Sophocles said is outdated because
a) humans today believe in leading a fast paced life
b) life today must be lived
c) humans have no other choice but to chase time
d) humans have admitted that time today is precious

2) Electronic poll devices, instant services, fast food restaurants signify
a) acceleration in life
b) impatience of our times
c) our need to work fast as it gives us power
d) all of the above

3) According to the author we wish to save time because
a) we hope to be more efficient and capable
b) we wish to accomplish more in a short period of time
c) we wish to make appropriate choices
d) time saved is time earned

4) A word that means the same as ‘filled to capacity’ is
a) mania
b) saturation
c) cramming
d) bored

5) The passage
a) advocates the need to accelerate time so that we can meet our requirements
b) recognizes the need to rush and scurry all the time
c) advises us to recognize time and decide what to do with it
d) appreciates those who invest time wisely

Q 2 Read the following passage carefully: (5 Marks)
A recent trip to Lucknow was an instant eye-opener and a more instant stimulus to introspection.
The realization of self degradation started from the station itself. All set to fight the autowallah in Lucknow and accuse him of being a rude fleecer, I was stopped mid-sentence by his demeanour. He was mild, polished and totally agreeable to whatever I would pay him. He was sure I would not pay less than what the fare should be because he felt I had enough money to do so. Of course the respectful way he spoke to me took me completely off guard, and made me a wee bit ashamed. The aggression which one has to display all the time in Delhi, I realized was not needed here. In fact, it was shocking for the autowallah to encounter a presumptuous woman yearning for a fight.
That’s what Delhi does to you. It takes away your polish. Unlike Delhi, Lucknow prefers to stay away from hysterical momentum. It takes an easy pace of life, teaches residents to stay cool, enjoy food, take siestas and work without hitting the breakneck speed barrier. It has set its priorities right. It nurtures its young and it loves its old.
In Delhi, morning walkers go for expensive paraphernalia. You need to drive at least five kms to hunt for a park. Back in Lucknow simply walk out of your house and your walk begins. No traffic and no pollution.

Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) The author was all set to fight with the autorickshaw driver in Lucknow as
a) he expected her to pay more than was due
b) she was sure he would be unjust
c) her experience in Delhi had taught her to mistrust autowallahs
d) he was unbelievably discourteous

2) Your personality in Delhi becomes
a) negative and aggressive
b) agreeable and submissive
c) polished and assertive
d) negative and submissive

3) Morning walkers in Lucknow require
a) a park outside their house
b) expensive paraphernalia
c) good sports gear
d) almost nothing

4) The word ‘presumptuous’ in the passage means
a) modest
b) rude
c) proud
d) imaginative

5) The trip to Lucknow was an eye opener for the author because
a) she realized that every city in India needs to love its old and calm down its young
b) she realized that she was full of negativity
c) she had begun to doubt everyone around her
d) all of the above

Q 3 Read the following passage carefully (5 Marks)
Su means number and Duko means single. The game of Sudoku has many similarities to the game of life. The game consists of a 9x9 grid divided into 3x3 boxes in which a few numbers called “given”- the number of givens varies between 17 and 30 for a puzzle to be reasonably viable- are already in place.
In life, too, you start with a given set of notions and then work from thereon. In Sudoku, you need to follow a set of rules to build up the grid, filling each row, column and box with numbers ranging from one to nine, so much like in life where you have to go on your way without antagonizing anyone else. Respect every number (person) and things would be fine. While trial or error may or may not work, the correct technique is in eliminating numbers that don’t fit in a particular box.
In Sudoku, the arrangement of the given numbers is symmetrical. This is instructive in life, on how to maintain steadfast faith, poise and equanimity despite situations when everything turns topsy-turvy.
There is a subtle difference between the two as well. Make a mistake and you can erase it and begin all over again in Sudoku. Not so in life. You can learn a lesson though, and avoid making the same mistake in future.
Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) The given numbers in Sudoku are comparable to the -------------------------------in life.
a) rules
b) notions
c) people
d) respect

2) In Sudoku, by eliminating numbers that do not fit we
a) keep reducing errors to succeed in life
b) keep adding the chances to solve the puzzle
c) restrict our choices
d) open new avenues

3) In life, symmetry is maintained through
a) patience and hard work
b) balance inspite of hardships
c) constant trust
d) friends and enemies
4) In life we can learn from our mistakes but we cannot
a) begin afresh
b) undo them
c) relive them
d) commit them again

5) To ‘antagonise’ in the passage means
a) to be determined
b) to be noticeable
c) to please
d) to make someone angry

Q 4 Read the following passage carefully (5 Marks)
THESE DREAMS
These dreams
Obstinate offspring of my wayward mind
Keep running out of my home
All too often.

Somewhat humiliated
Somewhat hurt
Somewhat angry
At times they even rush out barefoot.

It is difficult to pacify these stubborn kids or humour them
For theirs is a search for eternal spring
They wish to seek out the stars and talk to them
I am a tired traveller
And have not the will
To chase them anymore.

I have come to terms
With my wilderness but I do fear for
Those naïve ones
Come evening and they may seek solace
If they come to you even as you sleep
Do not push them away, tenderly hold them
In your lap like their fond mother

Answer the following questions by selecting the most appropriate options from the ones given below:
1) The poet feels that he cannot control his dreams by saying that they
a) are somewhat angry
b) are obstinate offspring
c) rush out barefoot
d) keep running out of his home

2) I do fear for these naïve ones means that his dreams
a) need to be protected
b) need love and care
c) have become rebellious
d) need a parent to look after them

3) The message of the poem is
a) one must never stop dreaming
b) dreams distract you
c) practicality is the way of life
d) dream but know your limits

4) The poetic device in the first stanza is
a) simile
b) alliteration
c) metaphor
d) personification

5) Like a fond mother we must
a) nurture our dreams
b) push our dreams to the limits
c) hold them in our laps
d) let them be free

SECTION B
(Writing- 20marks)
Q 5 Use the notes in the following box to write a paragraph of about 100 words. (4 Marks)

Trip to Goa
• Wonderful place-open houses-eco-friendly
• People- friendly, happy-go-lucky
• Landscape-picturesque, beaches, clear blue water
• Restaurants- delicious sea food
• Sightseeing- ferry.bus, motorcycles available on rent
• Carnival- colourful, music ,dance, fun and frolic

Q 6. Your batch was the first to appear for the revamped examination system for Classes IX and X. Taking help from the verbal stimulus given below, write an article expressing your opinion and experiences in about 150 words. (8 Marks)

STUDENTS’ REACTION: Grades eliminate competition
No board examinations! No stress Board Examinations are history. CCE has made learning very interesting.
Exams are essential to review learning and progress

Boards are essential to review learning and progress

Q.7 Taking help from the visual given below, write an article for a national daily, sharing your concerns and suggestions about the issues highlighted. (8 Marks)

SECTION C
(Grammar – 20 Marks)
Q 8. Edit the Notice given below by choosing the appropriate option from the list given.
(4 Marks)

(a) (i) is being organised (ii) has organised (iii) is organising (iv) have been organised
(b) (i) would be played (ii) are played (iii) will be played (iv) will play
(c) (i) are requested (ii) were requested (iii) are being requested (iv) have been requested
(d) (i) witnessing (ii) witness (iii) to witness (iv) are witnessed

Q 9. Complete the news stories accompanying the following headlines by filling in the blanks.
(4 Marks)
(a). Fire in Bangalore high rise, no casualties
……………………………………………………… on the terrace of a five-storey Gold Towers in Residence Road in the heart of Bangalore, a police official said. ……………………………. so far.
(i) A fire broke out; No casualties have been reported
(ii) A fire has broken out; No casualties have been reported
(iii) A fire is breaking out; No casualties are being reported
(iv) A fire broke out; No casualties are said to be reported

(b). Sania, Shoaib exchange wedding vows in Hyderabad
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza ………………………………………………. at a hotel here on Monday after getting a no-objection certificate from the city police.
(i) has been tied the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik
(ii) is tying the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik
(iii) tied the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik
(iv) will have tied the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik

(c). Obama asks Pakistan to bring 26/11 perpetrators to justice
US President Barack Obama asked Pakistani Prime Minister Yusouf Raza Gilani……………………………………………………., saying that this action would be a positive thing in improving Indo-Pak ties.
(i) for bringing the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack to justice
(ii) to brought a perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack to justice
(iii) to bring perpetrators of Mumbai terrorist attack to justice
(iv) to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attack to justice

(d). Pakistan: 35 militants, 2 soldiers die in fighting
Militants armed with rockets and automatic weapons ……………………………….. in northwestern Pakistan………………………………………………….., officials said.

(i) attacked against two security checkpoints; leaving at least 35 insurgents and two soldiers dead
(ii) have attacked two security checkpoints; left at least 35 insurgents and two soldiers dead
(iii) attacked two security checkpoints; that has left at least 35 insurgents and two soldiers dead
(iv) attacked two security checkpoints; leaving at least 35 insurgents and two soldiers dead

Q 10 Choose the most appropriate options to complete the dialogue given below.
(4 Marks)
Nandini: Hello Niharika!
Niharika: Hi, What a pleasant surprise!
Nandini: It’s been a long time since we met.Where (a) ---------------------------------all these years?
Niharika: In Delhi. How about you? What (b)------------------------------- nowadays?
Nandini: I’m a fashion designer looking for a job. Last time we met you were still studying.
(c)----------------------business management?

Niharika: In 2001. Actually I’m here for an interview with a multinational.
Nandini: That’s a wonderful piece of news! When (d)-----------------------------------------------?
Niharika: I have to report at 5pm today. The office is in Sardar Patel Marg. Can you drop me there?
Nandini: Of course! Look there is plenty of time before that. Let’s treat ourselves to coffee.
(a) (i) had you been (ii) were you (iii) are you (iv) have you been

(b) (i) are you doing (ii) will you be doing (iii) have you been doing (iv) had you been doing

(c) (i) Are you doing (ii) When did you finish (iii) How did you finish (iv) Have you finished

(d) (i) did you report? (ii) would you come? (iii) do you have to report? (iv) do you have to come?

Q 11. Look at the notes given below and complete the paragraph that follows by choosing the
correct option. (4 Marks)
Egyptians discovered paper - made of stalks of tall reed -from word 'papyrus' — supplies limited - export restricted

The (a) ……………………………… Egyptians. It (b) ……………………………. The English word 'paper' (c) …………………………….. When supplies were limited (d) ………………………………….. the export.

(a) (i) discovery of paper has been made by the (ii) discovery of the paper was made by
(iii) discovery of paper was made by the (iv) discovery of paper is made by

(b) (i) was made from stalks of reed (ii) had been made with stalks of reed
(iii) was being made of stalks with reed (iv) was made with stalks from reed

(c) (i) derived from the word papyrus (ii) is derived of the word papyrus
(iii) has been derived from the word papyrus (iv) was derived from the word papyrus

(d) (i) and a restriction was imposed on (ii) a restriction was imposed on
(iii) a restriction has been imposed on (iv) a restriction was imposed by

Q 12. Read the following conversation carefully and complete the following passage by choosing
the most appropriate options. (4 Marks)
Dilip: I’ve been watching the sea and there hasn’t been any trace of a ship.
Ralph: I told you yesterday too that we’ll be rescued, so have patience.
Dilip: Why do you ask me to keep quiet whenever I say something?
Ralph: Have you ever said anything sensible?
Dilip said (a) ______________________________________ Ralph replied (b) ______________________________________and so asked him to have patience. Dilip angrily asked Ralph (c) __________________to which Ralph wanted to know (d) ____________________.
a)
(i) that he had been watching the sea and there hadn’t been any trace of a ship.
(ii) he had been watching the sea and there hasn’t been any trace of a ship.
(iii) that he watched the sea and there wasn’t any trace of a ship.
(iv) that he had watched the sea and there wasn’t any trace of a ship.

b)
(i) that he had told him before too that they would be rescued.
(ii) that he told him the next day too that they would be rescued.
(iii) that he had told him the day before too that they would be rescued.
(iv) that he told him the day before too that they will be rescued.

c)
(i) Why he asked him to keep quiet whenever he said something.
(ii) Why he should keep quiet whenever he said something.
(iii) that why he asked him to keep quiet whenever he said something.
(iv) Why was there a need for him to be quiet.
d)
(i) whether he had ever said anything sensible.
(ii) if he had never said anything sensible.
(iii) if he ever said anything sensible.
(iv) that If he ever said anything sensible.

SECTION D
(Literature -20 Marks)
Q 13 Read the extracts and answer the following questions by choosing the most
appropriate options. Attempt any two. (3x2=6 Marks)
(a)
More insects, more lanterns, more neighbours
More insects and the endless rain.
My mother twisted through and through
Groaning on a mat.
1) The cause of the mother’s agony was
a) the scorpion’s bite
b) the missing scorpion
c) the villager’s attitude
d) the endless rain

2) The poet uses the word more
a) to highlight the number
b) to emphasise mother’s pain
c) for the superstitious villagers
d) for the poem to rhyme

3) The tone of the poet in the extract is that of
a) frustration
b) irony
c) satire
d) cynical
(b)
I’m not the man I was! I will not be the man I must have been but for this lesson. I will honour
Christmas in my heart

1) The change was brought about in the speaker
a) by the ghost of Jacob Marley
b) by the spirit of the future
c) by the pitiable condition of the Crachit family.
d) by his own conscience

2) The speaker honours Christmas by
a) sending turkey to Crachit’s house
b) giving money to the boy
c) adopting the spirit of Christmas
d) all of the above

3) The lesson that he learnt was
a) to be compassionate and giving
b) to outscore others
c) to live and let live
d) To help people lead a peaceful life

(c)
Oh, lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud !
I fall upon the thorns of life, I bleed !
A heavy weight of hours has chain’d and bow’d
One too like thee- tamlless and swift and proud.

1) The above lines reflect the poet’s
a) nostalgia
b) ecstasy
c) dejection
d) fear

2) The poet requests the West Wind
a) to help him create poetry
b) to accompany him on his wanderings
c) to take him away from his sorrows
d) to chain and bend him

3) The poet device used in the above lines is
a) simile
b) metaphor
c) apostrophe
d) repetition
Q 14. Answer any four of the following questions in 30-40 words each. (2x4=8 Marks)
a) How does the west wind act both as a destroyer and preserver?
b) Cutie Pie is an intense and emotional character. Give two references from the text to support your statement.
c) Cratchit proposes the first toast to Mr. Scrooge. What does it tell you about Cratchit’s character?
d) Give an example of ‘leaf imagery’ as used by Shelley to express the moods and influence of West Wind.
e) What are the cobwebs that Babuli refers to in the chapter ‘The Tribute’?

Q 15 Answer any one of the following: (6 Marks)
As Babuli’s wife, present your case challenging your husband’s decision in a letter you write to him.
OR
The newspaper yelled it. TV followed it up. It seemed a big story, bigger than……….
As a reader express your opinion about the role media played in Cutie Pie’s existence on Earth.

Undulating Beauty of Pristine Nature

2010-08-19T22:21:00.000-07:00

Wake up at the break of dawn and see the mesmerizing sunrise…Breathe deep as you take a stroll in a park and feel the fresh fragrant air fill your lungs...Discover vibrant colours as you walk through the flowers…Dip your feet into peaceful lakes, rushing rivers and estuaries teeming with wildlife…Feel the rush of snow beneath your skis or let a gentle breeze fill your sails on sparkling waters…Gaze at the high peaks and the deep seas and feel the Earth...

Yes these are the pleasures that Natural beauty gives us.

Nature has brought a lot of aesthetic charm into the lives of all living beings as it commands endless power on the sun, clouds, rain and snow. It can set a sky aflame at sunset or cast a magic spell and transform a green landscape into a snow white wonderland. It can design a vibrant rainbow in the sky or paint beautiful autumn colours on trees. It can make the buds blossom and announce the arrival of spring. Nature surely is an intrinsic part of our lives.

No, it is not only a source of abundant beauty that appeals to the senses but also a great motivational and inspirational source which rejuvenates us when we are feeling low. It is such a wonderful & splendid reinforcer that God has blessed the mankind with.

But are the humans not an ignorant lot of people?

Do they ever take into account that the influence they have had over Nature is disastrous. Deforestation is expanding; glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising ….. Time is slipping out of our hands.

At times when I ponder over this, I feel that in the coming years the impact of Global Warming will start having far reaching consequences. Why does Man not understand that he will be held guilty for not paying heed to the situation at the right time? The human race needs to understand that the threat from climate change is serious, it is urgent and it is ever growing. The response of the present generation to this challenge will be judged by history, for if we fail to meet it- boldly, swiftly and together – then we risk consigning future generations to an irreversible catastrophe.

Let’s start from the grass root level. We cannot afford to forget that we have to pass on the bounteous nature to our progeny. Remember Nature is depending on us. Let’s have a mutual consensus that we will learn to become more aware of our surrounding. Nature requires that humans change lifestyles to accommodate and enjoy its beauty . Don't throw your bottles out the window of the car, pick up that piece of paper, unplug a charger when not required, nature's beauty depends on us to keep it beautiful.

Please do your part and the generations, which follow will enjoy the beauty of nature just as we do. Let’s allow the beauty in nature to have a miraculous impact on the lives of mankind for innumerable years to come. Let’s not selfishly create a ruckus around. Nature is indeed spectacular and it is our responsibility to keep it beautiful.

Let’s be thankful to Lord for surrounding us with the bountiful nature.

Motivational Words

2010-07-23T01:04:00.000-07:00

A Wonderful & inspiring Quote by Ratan Tata....
" I don't Believe in taking right decisions...
I take decisions & then make them Right..."
So Always Believe in your Ability & Efforts...

Ode To The West Wind

2010-07-23T01:02:00.000-07:00

A brief introduction to the Poem

This poem was written in the woods in Italy. The poet wrote it on a day when the stormy wind was collecting the vapours that send the autumnal rains. At sunset, as Shelley has foreseen, there was a violent tempest of hail and rain attended by an exceptional thunder of lightning.
This is one of Shelly’s greatest poems. It has been called the matchless ode.But the main difference in understanding arises from the abundance of similes and metaphors, which follow one another with an astonishing quickness. During the poem, Shelley passes from a magnificent realization of nature’s storm and place to equally great self description. Finally he mingles nature and himself together in order to sing for the golden age of mankind.

Summary

Stanza 1

The opening stanza describes the activities of the west wind on land.The poet addresses the wind as if it is a living personality who can hear him. He also personifies autumn and describes the west wind as the breath of autumn i.e. the west wind is the only present spirit of autumn. The wind is invisible but its power over the dead leaves can clearly be seen. When it blows, its force drives the withered and the decaying leaves lying on the ground in the same way as a magician drives away the ghosts. The withered leaves are described as yellow, black, pale and red (redness was due to the fever and decay). There are heaps and heaps of them and they all seem to be afflicted with some disease.
The west wind conveys the winged seeds to their dark wintery beds under the earth where they remained alive all-through the winter season, lifeless and unable to move and rise. Each seed will lie under the ground just as dead man lies in his grave. The seeds will continue to lie under the ground till the spring season comes with its light breezes and blue skies. It will blow its trumpet to awaken the sleeping earth. With the coming of spring, nature wakes up to a new life. Hence the poet imagines that the spring blows its trumpet in order to arise the earth. The poet here brings in another metaphor. Just as a shepherd takes his flock of sheep to the fields in order to graze or feed them. So the spring drives the buds out of the seeds, in which they were shut into the open air. With the coming of spring the buds and flowers begin to bloom and feed in the air just as sheep roam about and feed in the fields. Thus, the valleys and the hills are filled with buds and flowers of different colours and smells. The Wild West wind is blowing everywhere addressing it to as the destroyer (of the decaying leaves) and preserver (of living seeds), the poet calls upon it to listen to him.
Spring is regarded as the sister of autumn and of the west wind. But while autumn is dull and gloomy, spring is marked by light breeze and blue skies.
In the first stanza, Shelly uses all inverse similes. For example in this stanza the leaves which are visible are compared to the ghosts which are invisible.

Stanza 2

This stanza talks about the activities of the west wind in the air. The poet expects us to imagine that there is a huge tree whose roots are in the ocean and branches are up in the sky. From the branches of this tree, loose clouds fall. In the same way rotten leaves fall from an ordinary tree. These clouds fall on the surface of the west wind first, as rotten leaves of a tree fall on the earth. Further, these clouds fall when there is unrest or disturbance in the night sky i.e. when stormy conditions develop in the sky; these clouds are the messengers of rain and lightning. The picture of the clouds is followed by the picture of an approaching storm. The locks of this approaching storm are spread on the airy surface of the west wind like the bright sky had uplifted from the head of an intoxicated Maenad. The hair of the storm corners the surface of the west wind all the way from the horizon to the highest point in the sky. (What the poet means here, as his eyes travel from the horizon to the zenith, appearance of the sky indicates to him that a storm is getting ready to blow). Then the next picture follows. The west wind is like a funeral song being sung over the death of the year. In the darkness of the night a huge tomb will be erected over the dead body of the year.
The darkness of the night, which is spreading over the earth’s surface as the dome of that tomb. The collective strength of the clouds, leads to the west or the arched roof of that tomb. From the solid seeming vapours of the cloud in the sky will fall as rain, lightning and hailstorm. The poet once again calls upon the west wind to listen to him.
This entire stanza illustrates the abstract quality of Shelly’s poetry. All the pictures in the poem are vague and hazy.

Stanza 3

This stanza describes the effect of the west wind on the water. The west wind has, by its violence and fury, disturbed the Mediterranean in his sleep. During the summer the Mediterranean has been soothed by the pleasant sound of bright rivers which fell into its water and had gone to sleep near an island made up of lava in the Baie’s island, not far from Naples. In its dream he had seen the dreams of old places and tower slightly trembling in the bright and clear light of the ocean where moss and flowers of such overpowering sweetness grow that the very thought of them make us feel drowsy. Then following a description of the effect of the west wind on the Atlantic Ocean. When west wind blows on the Atlantic, its water is thrown into a state of agitation. Waves rise from one side and the other. Between these waves hollows are produced. Before the west wind blew, the surface of the Atlantic was absolutely leveled but now it seems that Atlantic has been divided into two halves to create a path on its surface for the west wind to blow over it. There are lots of plants growing at the bottom of the ocean. But they have no sap in them. When the west wind begins to blow on the Atlantic these plants become aware of its arrival. They begin to tremble with fear and, in this state of fear, they shed their leaves. (Just as in autumn, the trees shed their leaves; similarly the plants at the bottom of the ocean also shed their leaves. The approach of these winds is a sign for these plants to shed their leaves. Hence, the plants are imagined as feeling frightened/ petrified of the west wind.)
Both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic are personified here. These personifications show the myth making power of Shelley.

Stanza 4

In this stanza the poet establishes a connection between himself and the wind. He wishes that he were a leaf, a cloud or a wave of the ocean, so that the west wind could carry him along. He feels a keen desire to taste the fierce strength of the west wind which is uncontrollably enjoying the freedom. The poet also has a sense of freedom, although he is not as free as the west wind. The poet recalls his boyhood when he could surpass the west wind in speed and when he could easily accompany it in its upward flight. If he still had the energy and the vitality, which he possessed as a boy, he would not have felt the need of seeking the help of the west wind in his present distress. But he has lost his youthful spirit and fire, he is in need of help. He appeals to the west wind to lift him as a leaf, a cloud or a wave because he has greatly suffered in life and under the weight of misfortunes, he feels almost crushed and incapacitated. Once he, too was wild, uncontrollable and rough like the west wind. But, now he feels bent and oppressed by the sorrows and misfortunes of life.
The stanza reveals Shelley’s sensitive nature and his feeling of helplessness in the face of trials and tribulations of life. It curtains the pathetic cry of the wounded heart. These are deeply personal lines which give us a deep insight, a glimpse of nature and temperament of Shelley.

Stanza 5

(Lines 57-70)

The poet appeals to the West Wind to treat him as its lyre just as it treats the forest.

The poet regards the forest as a stringed musical instrument on which the West Wind blows, producing harmonious sounds. He would like the West Wind to treat him also like a stringed musical instrument and blow on him.
True that he too is passing through the autumn of his life, just as the forest is passing through its autumn. The poet’s leaves are also falling like the leaves of the forest. He means that all his hopes and joys are gone and that his life has become grey, dull and barren.
When the West Wind strikes the strings of these two lyres (the forest and the poet), it will produce melancholy or sad sounds because both the forest and the poet being in the autumn of their lives will respond gloomily to the West Wind.
But, although these sounds will be sad, they will certainly be sweet.
(Sad songs are always sweet as Shelley tells us also in his poem Ode To A Skylark).
Shelley appeals to the West Wind to become his sprit because there is something common between them. The poet would like to become one with the West Wind. He seeks a union with the forceful or fierce spirit of the West Wind.
He asks the west wind to drive or scatter his dead thoughts over the universe so that they may stimulate the forces of progress and bring about a new era in human history.
His thoughts do not have their original fire but they are still capable of inspiring mankind. Just as the ashes and sparks fly in all directions from a hearth where the fire has not yet completely gone out, similarly the poet wants his words to be scattered far and wide by the force of the west wind and by the magic of his song.
He wishes the west wind to act as his mouthpiece for the utterance of his prophecy regarding the arrival of the Golden Age on earth.
Just as winter is surely followed in natural course by spring, similarly this era of misery and evil will surely be followed by an era of perfect happiness, love, and beauty.(These lines express Shelley’s bright optimism regarding the future of mankind and his belief in the Golden Age and in the perfectibility of human nature).

And, by the incantation of this verse…(lines 65-67) What Shelley means is that, just as a few sparks from a hearth may cause a fire somewhere , the magic of his words may bring about a revolution in the world. Shelley was a revolutionary. He was keenly dissatisfied with the existing modes of life, conventions and institutions. He wanted that a revolution should sweep away old ways of life and bring about a changed outlook.

unawakened earth(line 68)-earth which is still unregenerate; earth which is still buried beneath old conventions, old habits of thought, and old institutions.

The trumpet of a prophecy-The poet asks the West Wind to act as an announcer. Just as a trumpet is blown when a proclamation is made, similarly the West Wind will act as a trumpet because he has a prophecy to make.

If Winter comes, can spring be far behind? Winter in England is a period of great distress because of the intensity of cold. Winter therefore symbolizes a period of hardships and difficulties.
Spring, on the other hand, is a season of joy and re-birth in Nature. Winter must always be followed by spring. Similarly this period of misery, suffering, and evil will surely come to end and the Golden Age will commence. During the Golden Age, Beauty and Love will reign over the earth. There will neither be evil nor injustice nor suffering among human beings. (This is a famous line and is often quoted. It shows Shelley as an idealist, as a believer in the eventual triumph of the forces of good over the forces of evil)

Let's Do Some Thinking

2010-07-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

7 Tips to be HAPPY in life

*Never Be late,
*Don't cheat,
*Live simple,
*Expect Little,
*Work More,
*Always Smile,
*Never Break Good Relations...

...Cheerio...

Motivation Today

2010-06-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

LIFE has no pause button,
DREAMS have no expiry date,
TIME has no holiday,
So, don't waste a single moment .
Love It...
Live It...
& Get It

Important Questions

2010-06-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

Q. 1 Envisage the life Saheb and Mukesh would enjoy if they were freed? How would it be different from the present condition?

At present – life devoid of happiness … involved in child labour….
If freed – they can enjoy their freedom , maybe study , enjoy in the midst of nature …ensure physical & mental health for them.
This means the future of the nation will be ensured as not only children like Saheb & Mukesh (who are at present employed in some or the other work) but also their future generations would be uplifted in more ways than one.
(Remember the poem – Elemantary…and the points discussed in the context of the ending of the poem…history theirs whose language is the sun…) Same will hold true in this case as well.

Q1 How were the two hosts - the crofter and the ironmaster different from one another ?

Crofter –
When the peddler approaches him in his shabby and poverty stricken condition , the crofter accepts him as the peddler .
He proves to be a good host …. gives him shelter, food , warmth and comfort , his company as if the peddler is an old friend.
Gives him the thing which maybe the peddler has not got for ages – his TRUST. He tells the peddler about his savings of 30 kronors and also shows him the safe hiding place.

Ironmaster-
Tries to be a very good host by forcefully inviting the peddler to his Manor House.
Sends his daughter Edla to fetch him to their home.
When Edla tries to point out that the peddler does not seem to have anything special about him, he tries to answer back in a very philosophical manner. He tells her that there is nothing wrong with the peddler as a person & the tramp manners would be thrown away with his dirty clothes.

BUT the difference is that the crofter was good and hospitable towards the peddler after knowing him as a tramp. Whereas the Ironmaster mistook him to be an old comrade whose condition had deteriorated in the past due to which he was in this miserable condition.
To the extent that when he realized that the tramp is not an old comrade the Ironmaster got wild with anger and wanted to hand him over to the Sheriff. Then he told the peddler to leave the place immediately.

Motivation Today

2010-06-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

The Greatest Advantage of Speaking Truth...
You don't have to remember what you said...
Think about it...
Strange but true...

Mind Setter for the Day

2010-06-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

Soldier, " Sir, we are surrounded by enemies on all sides. "
Major, " Excellent! Means we can attack in any direction. "

ATTITUDE DECIDES YOUR SUCCESS....

Motivation Today

2010-06-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

We all are born for some special purpose..!
None of us is a waste!!
So don't be a prisoner of ur past,
Be an architect of your FUTURE...!!

Inspiration Today

2010-06-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

The gift of Life is not giving something valuable to someone you care.
It is in silently giving everything without any intention of getting anything in return.

Motivation Today

2010-05-17T21:44:00.000-07:00

AlWAYS REMEMBER
You are born without anything
But you die with your name.
So your name must not be a letter,
It must be a HISTORY...

Inspiration Today

2010-04-25T21:55:00.000-07:00

Some flowers grow best in SUN...
Others grow well in SHADE...
Always remember God puts us where we grow BEST.
So THANK God for every situation.

Motivation For The Day

2010-04-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

Each one of us has a fire in our heart for something.
It's our goal in life to find it and to keep it lit.

Inspiration Today

2010-03-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

When we do a task we cross 3 stages.
First - Insult, Second- Opposition and Third - Acceptance.
Fools stop on First, Losers stop on Second and Winners cross Third.
May you be a Winner in all that you do......

Thought For The Day

2010-03-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

Have You Ever Observed????
Letters A, B, C and D do not appear in the spellings of 1 to 99.
D appears first time in HUNDRED.
A appears first time in THOUSAND.
B appears first time in BILLION.
C appears first time in CRORE...
So you see, everybody has to wait for his turn and his share of SUCCESS...
ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR FORTHCOMING BOARD EXAM.
May SUCCESS Be All Yours.

Motivation Today

2010-03-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

While you were learning to speak,
Your Mom understood everything you tried to say.
Today you speak a lot and claim,
"Mom You Don't Understand"
How life changes.........
Have a good day.........

Inspiration For The Day

2010-03-14T00:46:00.000-08:00

In rain all birds take shelter
But EAGLE is the only bird
That avoids rain by flying above the Clouds.
Problems are common but attitide makes the DIFFERENCE........

Inspiration For The Day

2010-03-10T20:12:00.000-08:00

If you wait until all the lights are Green before you leave home,
You'll never get started on your trip to the top...
So What are you waiting for??
Get Going and Try to Reach your Destination Before the Others Do.

Inspiration For The Day

2010-03-09T08:03:00.000-08:00

Success is the good fortune that comes from aspiration, desperation, perspiration and inspiration.
May all these positive aspects help you through in your journey to SUCCESS.
ALL THE BEST for your forthcoming Board Exam.

Motivation For The Day

2010-03-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

Some people dream of success...
While others wake up and work hard at it.

Thought For The Day

2010-03-06T00:23:00.000-08:00

You have to believe in yourself when no one else does .
That is what makes you a WINNER.

Thought For The Day

2010-03-04T18:17:00.000-08:00

Forget about all the reasons why something may not work.

You only need to find out one good reason WHY IT WILL.

Important Questions Answered - Class X

2010-03-04T04:03:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS CAROL

What is the purpose of the presence of Tiny Tim in the play "A Christmas Carol"?

Tiny Tim Is a loveable character, a child any parent would like to have.

The Cratchit family loves Tim like anything and knows they would lose him if nothing is done soon enough to save him.

It serves another purpose – that of arousing affection in the heart of the heartless/hard-hearted Scrooge who lacks any feelings or emotions for anyone.

Scrooge was able to realize the importance of having a family, of caring and sharing and also what it means to love and to be loved by someone only when he is able to get a glimpse of the Cratchit House. Due to this he argues with the Second Ghost who is taunting him that something must be done for the poor and the suffering.

So he ultimately undergoes a change of heart and after his ordeal with the Third Ghost is over he becomes a foster father for Tiny Tim.

Why did Charles Dickens emphasize the fact that Scrooge does not like Christmas in the beginning of the play?
OR

Transformation of Scrooge is the essence of the play.

Charles Dickens wanted to explain the importance & the essence of Christmas through the play.

For this he created the character of Ebenezer Scrooge who was totally an anti-Christian. He did not believe in Christmas & explicitly hated all those who loved to celebrate this festival. (……Christmas - Bah – Humbug )

When he meets the spirit of Jacob Marley and the three ghosts he undergoes a complete change of heart.

The utter selfish, miserly and anti-social Scrooge changes to one who is soft-hearted , understands the importance of relationships and starts honouring Christmas in his heart not only on the day of Christmas but all through the year.
The change that has come over in Scrooge is noteworthy and convincing enough to make the readers understand that the festival of Christmas does not mean celebration & merry-making only. But also to care and share the problems , sufferings & joys with the others.

Scrooge had everything he wanted but still he was always gloomy and bitter.
Bob was a poor man but he was always cheerful and happy. What does this reveal about their characters?

Scrooge had everything . But what he had was only material wealth and property. Can we eat, drink or enjoy the paper currency.
No , it is only the emotional strength that makes us happy. And where does the emotional strength come to us from – it comes from family and friends that we have around us.
A celebration becomes worthwhile & a tragedy or a mishap becomes bearable with our close associates around us.
Scrooge had no family, friends or close associates. Therefore he was always gloomy , unhappy and cheerless all the time as he had no reason to be happy.

Bob Cratchit was poor, is not paid much to support his large family. Due to this his son Tiny Tim was on the verge of death. He could do nothing to save him – knew this fact & was able to accept it bravely due to his positivity.
He is a good husband and an even better father .
Due to this he is happy, contented and and spreads happiness around. He is able to pass on his positivity to his family.
Example – Children sharing work with Mother at the Christmas meal , Tiny Tim praying in the church , Mrs. Cratchit accepting that she should praise Mr. Scrooge in front of the kids & raising a toast in his name.
So the crux is that happiness comes to us not from material wealth or physical comforts. It comes to us from our inner self , if we want we can be happy and can smile in the face of difficulties & troubles.

Thought For The Day

2010-03-03T18:26:00.000-08:00

It takes a strong fish to swim against the current.

Even a dead one can float with it.

Thought Of The Day

2010-03-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

A small Dot can Stop a Big Sentence.
But...
A Few more Dots can give a continuity.
Amazing but True
"Every Ending can be a New Beginning."
All The Best For Your Exams.